THEATER 
ARTS 
LIB. 
MT 

737 
L252m 


JC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


a  000  072  137  3 


LANG 


MUSICAL 
ACCOMPANIMENT 
OF  MOVING 
PICTURES 


1 


i 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


^M       ^^JlA^lAAJt^ 


V>U^.x^-A_X 


u  /^  / 


Xp-\ 


MUSICAL  ACCOMPANIMENT 
OF  MOVING  PICTURES 

A  Practical  Manual 
for 

Pianists    and    Organists 

AND  AN  EXPOSITION  OF  THE  PRIN- 
CIPLES UNDERLYING  THE  MUSICAL 
INTERPRETATION  OF  MOVING  PICTURES 

By 
EDITH    LANG 

AND 

GEORGE  WEST 


Price^  $1.25  net 


TUG  ©atQQMu/icClciiffeiix 

Bo/ton.  Ma/rtl^ 

G.  ScHiRMER  .  New  York       Winthrop  Rogers,  Ltd.   •  London 


COPYBIOHT,   1920, 

By   the  boston   MUSIC  COMPA>fY. 
B.  M.  Co.    6347. 


rhcstee 


MT 

737 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Introduction 1 

PART   I:  EQUIPMENT 

1.  Mental  Alertness 3 

2.  Musical  Resourcefulness 7 

a.  General  Remarks       ..........  7 

b.  Musical  Characterization  .........  8 

c.  Thematic  Development     .........  8 

d.  Transition  and  Modulation        ........  13 

e.  Transposition     ...........  21 

/.   Improvisation 22 

3.  Repertoire 26 

PART    II:   MUSICAL   INTERPRETATION 

1.  The  Feature  Film 31 

2.  "Flash-backs" 34 

3.  Animated  Cartoons  and  Slap-stick  Comedy 35 

4.  The  Comedy  Drama        ..........  37 

5.  Weekly  News  Pictures          .........  38 

6.  Educational  Films 40 

7.  Travel  Views 41 

PART    III:   THE    THEATRICAL   ORGAN 

1.  Peculiarities  op  Organ  Technique      .......  44 

a.  How  to  Sit  at  the  Organ 44 

b.  Pedalling 45 

c.  Independence  of  Hands  and  Feet       .......  46 

d.  Staccato  and  Legato  Touch        ........  47 

e.  Registration       ...........  47 

2.  Orchestration  by  Means  of  Organ  Stops           .....  47 

3.  Swell-pedals  and  Crescendo-pedal .52 

4.  The  Identification  of  Tone-colors     .......  53 

5.  Special  Effects,  and  How  to  Produce  Them 56 

Conclusion 61 

Index     ...                 63 


iii 


INTRODUCTION 

That  music  is  an  invaluable  and  necessary  aid  to  the  success  and  enjoj'- 
ment  of  moving  pictures,  is  a  fact  which  no  one  will  deny.  But  the  accom- 
panying, or  illustrating,  music  must  be  of  the  right  kind,  or  else  its  verj^ 
aim  will  be  defeated.  Unfortunately,  the  right  kind  of  "picture  music" 
is  something  that  is  not  universally  understood,  and  the  musician,  no 
matter  how  learned  he  may  be  in  his  trade,  is  beset  by  a  great  many 
problems,  when  he  attempts  to  follow  and  illustrate  in  music  the  fast- 
moving  film.  This  book  is  not  intended  to  exhaust  a  subject  which  is 
almost  unHmited  in  its  aspects,  but  it  rather  endeavors  to  lay  down  a  few 
safe  and  dependable  rules  and  courses  of  action  from  which  any  student 
of  these  problems  may  make  his  own  deductions  and  develop  his  own 
personal  style.  For  nothing  would  be  more  tedious  or  impracticable  than 
to  attempt  uniformity  where  variety  and  individuahty  are  the  essentials. 
The  most  successful  and  highest-paid  player  is  the  one  whose  style  is  the 
most  distinctive.  When  you  analyze  this  distinction,  you  will  find  that  it 
is  mainly  based  on  certain  characteristics  of  his  personality,  such  as 
inteUigence,  quick  perception,  realization  of  dramatic  values,  insight  in 
human  psychology,  and  well-grounded  musical  technique.  But  aside 
from  these  factors,  there  is  one  quality  which  the  player  requires  above  all, 
and  which  this  book  primarily  intends  to  awaken  and  develop.  That 
quahty  is  resourcefulness. 

With  resourcefulness  the  average  player  of  even  mean  endowments 
may  fit  himself  to  follow  any  kind  of  picture  that  may  be  thrown  on  the 
screen.  This  resourcefulness  extends  in  two  different  directions :  one  of 
them  is  the  musical  training  which  must  aim  to  perfect  facility  in  improvi- 
sation ;  the  other  is  a  cultivation  of  taste  and  a  sense  of  fitness  in  adapting 
musical  material  to  the  pictured  scene.  We  shall  try,  in  the  following 
paragraphs,  to  give  practical  hints  in  both  of  these  directions.  Therefore 
this  book  may  be  considered  as  a  "first-aid"  manual  for  the  beginner  in 
the  field  of  moving  picture  music. 

The  prime  function  of  the  music  that  accompanies  moving  pictures  is 
to  reflect  the  mood  of  the  scene  in  the  hearer's  mind,  and  rouse  more 

1 


2       MUSICAL  ACCOMPANIMENT  OF  MOVING   PICTURES 

readily  and  more  intensely  in  the  spectator  the  changing  emotions  of  the 
pictured  story.  One  hears  much  music  in  the  "movies"  that  is  as  foreign 
to  the  action  on  the  screen  as  anything  could  be,  and  frequently  actually 
kills  the  effect  of  the  photographer's  art.  Producers  have  been  quick  to 
realize  this  danger,  and  therefore  many  pictures  are  being  released  with 
minute  instructions  concerning  the  music  that  is  to  accompany  them. 
(See  ill.  p.  60.)  But  even  so,  the  player  will  require  some  training  to  do 
the  music  and  the  picture  justice,  and  will  succeed  best  if  his  mental 
alertness  and  his  musical  resourcefulness  work  hand  in  hand. 


PART  I 

EQUIPMENT 

1.   Mental  Alertness 

The  player  will  do  well,  first  of  all,  to  "size  up"  his  audience.  Hardly 
two  theatres  in  any  place  cater  to  exactly  the  same  crowd.  What  "goes" 
in  one  house,  "falls  flat"  in  another.  He  will  therefore  have  to  experiment 
and  judge  carefully  what  road  to  follow.  But  it  should  be  stated  right 
at  the  beginning,  and  strongly  emphasized,  that  most  audiences  are  mis- 
judged in  that  they  are  capable  of  much  more  education  and  cultivation 
than  they  are  generally  given  credit  for.  He  is  a  lazy  and  sterile  player 
who  is  satisfied  that  what  he  is  giving  his  audience  is  "good  enough." 
The  standards  of  good  and  bad  music  may  vary  according  to  country  and 
clime.  But  it  would  not  be  hard  to  agree  on  desirable  and  undesirable 
material  for  the  musical  accompaniment  of  moving  pictures.  Its  first 
requisite  is  fitness.  The  player  will  determine  this  according  to  his 
lights  and  to  the  measure  of  his  taste.  It  is  well  to  choose  from  among 
the  contemporaneous  popular  music  such  numbers  as  have  become  iden- 
tified with  certain  emotions,  either  of  patriotism,  joy,  or  sadness.  The 
audience  will  grasp  quickest  what  it  is  fairly  familiar  with,  and  sometimes 
a  short  strain  from,  or  mere  suggestion  of,  a  popular  number  will  go  a  long 
way  toward  telling  its  story.  The  classical  repertoire,  on  the  other  hand, 
is  an  inexhaustible  treasure  trove  for  all  who  seek  dihgently  and  patiently. 

As  the  musical  interpreter  of  the  emotions  depicted  on  the  screen,  the 
player  himself  must  be  emotional  and  respond  to  the  often  quick  changes 
in  the  situation.  In  fact,  if  not  his  knowledge  of  life,  his  knowledge  of  the 
picture  must  enable  him  to  anticipate,  so  that  his  music  is  always  slightly 
ahead  of  the  film,  preparing  rather  than  reflecting.  Therefore  the  player^s 
eyes  should  he  on  the  screen  as  constantly  as  possible,  and  never  for  too  long 
a  stretch  on  the  music  or  on  the  keyboard.  His  attention  should  be  riveted 
on  the  turn  of  events,  his  emotions  should  promptly  respond  to  pathos  or 
humor,  to  tragedy  or  comedy,  as  they  may  be  interwoven  in  the  picture 
play.  A  keen  sense  of  humor  is  a  necessary  requirement  in  his  make-up. 
But  his  wit  should  be  capable  of  attuning  itself  to  various  gradations,  from 
subtle  irony  to  broad  "slap-stick"  farce  and  horse-play. 

3 


4       MUSICAL  ACCOMPANIMENT  OF  MOVING   PICTURES 

Mental  alertness  is  needed  in  quickly  "locating"  the  musical  atmosphere 
for  a  picture.  If  a  scene  is  laid  in,  or  suddenly  shifted  to  the  Orient,  if 
in  the  news  section  of  the  performance  the  film  should  portray  a  scene  in  a 
foreign  country,  music  of  a  corresponding  nature  will  make  the  picture 
"get  over"  much  more  successfully  than  would  the  indifferent  playing  of 
a  waltz  tune.  The  player  must  be  exceedingly  careful  not  to  "italicise" 
the  situation  so  that  it  becomes  distorted  or  burlesqued.  Therefore  he 
should  refrain  from  all  excesses.  A  case  in  point  may  be  cited  here.  In 
the  series  of  Burton  Holmes's  "travel  pictures"  the  "Tagalog  Toilers  of 
Luzon"  in  the  Phihppines  are  shown,  planters  and  reapers  of  rice.  These 
toilers,  hard-working  men  and  women,  are  pictured  in  the  act  of  threshing 
the  cereal,  which  they  accomplish  by  a  peculiar  and  complicated  treading 
of  the  sheaves  with  their  feet,  resembling  for  all  the  world  a  weird  dance. 
With  a  monotonous  rhythm  in  the  bass  and  an  exotic  inflection  of  the 
melody,  the  strangeness  and  primitiveness  of  the  scene  would  stand  out, 
the  long  and  patient  toil  of  the  threshers  would  be  apparent,  the  photog- 
rapher's aim  would  be  gained.  Instead,  the  musician  plays  a  Broadway 
cabaret  tune,  with  plenty  of  "jazz"  ;  the  house  is  roaring  with  laughter 
and  the  photographer's  intended  lesson  is  lost ! 

This  leads  to  the  remark  that  flippancy  and  facetiousness  are  wholly  out 
of  place  in  a  serious  and  educational  picture.  The  player's  attitude  of 
mind  should  always  be  one  of  interest,  never  betray  tiredness  or  boredom. 
Nothing  is  more  quickly  sensed  by  an  audience  than  the  inattentiveness 
and  indifference  of  the  player. 

In  order  to  illustrate  properly  in  music  the  happenings  on  the  screen, 
the  musician  should  be  endowed  with  psychological  insight.  Many  books 
on  the  subject  are  within  reach  of  the  student,  and  enough  of  them  are 
written  in  so  popular  a  vein  that  they  can  be  understood  and  read  with 
profit  by  the  layman.  Human  nature,  in  spite  of  its  compUcation,  can 
be  reduced  to  a  rather  limited  field  of  observation,  so  far  as  the  "movies" 
are  concerned.  There  is  more  or  less  resemblance  between  a  great  many 
films.  The  intrigue  is  very  often  the  same,  the  emotions  follow  each  other 
in  a  given  circle,  the  development  varies  but  slightl3^  The  law  of  com- 
pensation rules  supreme,  virtue  receives  its  reward,  crime  its  punishment. 
Love  and  hatred,  hope  and  despair,  harrowing  moments  of  tension  and 
episodes  of  comic  relief  make  up  the  bulk  of  moving  pictures.  Such 
fundamental  emotions,  and  their  related  affections,  should  be  carefully 
studied  by  the  player ;  he  should  be  able  readily  to  recognize  them,  and 
he  should  seek  to  express  them  in  turn  by  means  of  music.  In  order  to  do 
this  successfully,  he  should  not  wait  until  he  is  in  the  theatre  and  the  film 
has  started.  He  should  devote  hours  of  study  to  the  carrjdng  out  of  a  pre- 
conceived plan  by  which  he  sets  himself  the  task  of  playing  or  improvising 


MENTAL  ALERTNESS  5 

music  that  corresponds  to  these  basic  moods  of  hmnan  nature.  In  other 
words,  he  should  put  himself  successively  into  a  frame  of  mind  that  is  the 
equivalent  of  happiness  or  grief,  of  quiet  contemplation  or  hurried  flight, 
of  hope  attained  or  shattered  dreams.  With  sympathetic  curiosity  he 
should  study  the  mental  processes  by  which  human  actions  are  guided,  he 
should  learn  to  distinguish  between  noble  and  dastardly  motives.  Music 
is  a  speech  more  subtle  and  pliant  than  that  of  mere  words,  and  a  sensitive 
player  is  capable  of  conveying,  more  clearly  than  the  spoken  word  could 
do,  what  the  thought  or  gesture  of  the  film  actor  may  imply. 

The  player  should,  above  all,  learn  to  read  facial  expressions.  Since 
the  actor,  deprived  of  speech,  must  emphasize  his  emotions  by  facial  play, 
the  twinkle  in  his  eye,  a  furrow  of  his  brow,  a  look,  or  a  smile  are  the  only 
manifestations  of  his  thought.  These  the  player  must  learn  to  distinguish 
and  to  recognize  instantly.  Music,  it  may  as  well  be  stated,  cannot  always 
shift  as  quickly  as  will  the  facial  play  of  the  actor  in  some  scene  or  other. 
It  will  then  behoove  the  player  to  give  the  keynote  of  the  situation  with 
illustrative  strains.  However,  a  word  of  caution  may  be  added  here, 
that  one  should  not  rely  too  much  on  such  methods,  since  nothing  heightens 
the  enjoyment  and  effect  of  a  film  more  strongly  than  a  close  and  minute 
following  of  every  phase  of  the  photo  play,  with  due  regard  to  musical 
continuity. 

A  good  memory  is  a  valuable  help  to  the  player.  Not  only  should  he 
try  to  memorize  certain  compositions  as  a  whole,  but  he  should  especially 
furnish  his  storehouse  of  remembered  music  with  stock  phrases  and 
motives,  adapted  to  different  moods,  so  that  he  can  always  draw  from  this 
library  in  his  head.  He  should  also  try  to  remember  certain  films,  the 
development  of  the  story,  the  sequence  of  situations,  so  that  he  may 
anticipate  the  effect  by  recognizing  the  cause.  Since  popular  wisdom  has 
it  that  sunshine  always  follows  upon  rain,  that  the  harvest  shall  be  as  the 
planting,  the  psychologist  of  the  "movies"  generally  finds  that  the  story 
of  the  film  follows  this  popular  hne  of  thought.  The  memorizing  of  certain 
music  that  fits  certain  situations,  of  special  musical  effects  that  characterize 
particular  incidents,  is  the  surest  way  by  which  the  player  can  keep  himself 
always  ready  for  emergencies.  Thus  alone  can  he  gain  security  and  ease 
in  his  playing ! 

It  remains  to  say  a  few  words  about  "theatrical  values."  The  player 
should  never  forget  that  he  is  not  playing  an  organ  or  piano  recital,  but 
that  he  is  furnishing  theatrical  music  for  a  theatrical  production.  Tragedy 
and  comedy  are  built  on  the  basis  of  ancient  and  well-recognized  rules. 
As  the  play  progresses,  gains  impetus,  presents  its  problems  and  intrigues, 
gradually  reaches  its  cUmax  and  leads  to  the  solution,  so  should  the  music 
advance  and  follow  the  march  of  events  with  an  ever  increasing  intensity. 


6       MUSICAL  ACCOMPANIMENT  OF  MOVING   PICTURES 

The  graphic  illustration  of  certain  theatrical  situations  will  be  treated  of 
later.  Suffice  it  here  to  say  that  there  are  times  when  a  situation  becomes 
so  intense  that  even  music  fails  to  express  it,  and  that  nothing  but  a  moment 
of  silence  can  give  an  actual  realization  to  the  spectator.  If  a  play  demands 
"local  color"  the  music  should  unmistakably  give  it  or  approximate  it  at 
least.  The  lighting  of  a  picture,  whether  in  full  sunlight  or  veiled  by  the 
shadows  of  dusk,  will  govern  the  intensity  of  tone  that  the  player  draws  from 
the  instrument.  The  "speed"  with  which  the  action  progresses  will 
influence  the  tempo  of  the  music.  One  may  go  so  far  as  to  say  that  the  very 
scenery  of  the  picture  can  be  hinted  at  in  tones.  A  peaceful,  blossoming 
landscape  will  demand  music  different  from  that  which  will  fit  a  bleak  and 
desolate  mountain  region.  The  bustle  of  city  life  will  require  music  of 
faster  tempo  than  the  placid  village  square. 

Nothing  can  give  a  better  idea  of  what  good  moving  picture  music 
should  be,  than  the  careful  study  of  successful  operas.  Therein  the  welding 
of  action  and  music  is  so  close,  that  they  cannot  be  separated  ;  the  musical 
characterization  amounts  to  a  labelling  of  each  singer  with  a  pertinent  phrase 
or  motive.  Take  as  an  instance  the  opera  "Carmen"  by  Bizet.  "Local 
color"  is  given  by  a  predominance  of  rhythms  familiarly  associated  with 
Spanish  music.  Watch  the  handling  of  the  crowds,  the  excited  populace 
in  the  first  act,  the  hilarious  dancers  in  the  second,  the  mysterious  smugglers 
in  the  third,  the  stately  and  gay  procession  in  the  fourth.  Mark  the 
voluptuous  and  alluring  airs  of  Carmen  herself,  in  the  first  act,  contrasted 
with  the  simple  and  sweet  melodies  that  are  given  to  Micaela,  the  innocent 
country  maiden.  Note  the  dramatic  effect  of  the  motive  of  foreboding 
and  doom,  first  sounded  in  the  third  act,  when  the  cards  invariably  point 
to  Carmen's  death.  The  use  of  this  motive,  in  the  fourth  act,  becomes  un- 
canny and  achieves  the  height  of  theatrical  impressiveness.  One  of  the 
finest  modern  examples  of  graphic  stage  music  is  Puccini's  opera  "Tosca." 
Each  character  is  treated  in  a  manner  that  reveals  the  essential  traits  of 
his  or  her  nature.  Every  measure  in  the  orchestra  fits  the  situation  on  the 
stage.  Love  scenes  of  unequalled  fervor  are  followed  by  those  of  brutahty, 
of  tragedy  and  horror.  Attention  should  be  called  to  the  beautiful  por- 
trayal in  music  of  dawn  breaking  over  the  city  of  Rome,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  third  act. 

Similar  instances  could  be  named  without  number.  The  diligent  student 
will  search  for  himself  in  the  vast  operatic  literature  for  passages  that  be- 
come universally  adaptable  and  will  form  his  most  effective  stock  in  trade. 
Then,  there  are  a  great  many  songs  which  by  their  words  have  become 
associated  with  certain  thoughts  or  emotions,  and  which  the  player  should 
be  able  to  call  upon  without  the  notes,  if  necessary.  There  are  a  great 
many  pleasing  salon  pieces  of  the  Ughter  kind  that  will  prove  particularly 


MUSICAL  RESOURCEFULNESS  —  GENERAL  REMARKS      7 

useful  for  comedies  and  some  of  the  shorter  film  plays.  Music  generally 
associated  with  such  events  as  weddings,  funerals,  patriotic  exercises, 
parades,  special  seasons  of  the  year,  boat  songs,  college  songs,  church 
hymns,  and  the  like,  should  all  be  in  the  player's  fingers,  ready  to  answer 
instantaneous  calls. 

2.   Musical  Resourcefulness 
a.  General  Remarks 

It  goes  without  saying  that  the  player  should  constantly  aim  to  improve 
his  musicianship  and  to  develop  his  technique,  that  of  the  fingers  alone, 
if  he  uses  the  piano,  that  of  keys  and  pedals,  if  he  plays  the  organ.  Since 
the  latter  instrument  has  become  predominant  in  most  moving  picture 
houses,  we  shall  concentrate  upon  its  special  technique.  This  calls 
immediately  for  a  word  regarding  organ  registration.  The  player  should 
familiarize  himself  with  the  peculiarities  of  each  stop,  select  the  most 
effective,  and  avoid  the  defective  or  blatant  ones.  As  a  guide  for  his 
registration,  the  player  should  always  have  the  orchestra  in  mind !  As 
varied  in  tone  color  as  this  body  of  instruments  is,  so  should  be  the  change 
and  relief  obtained  by  a  wise  and  frequent  variation  in  stops. 

Registers  and  tone  quahties  of  the  organ  should  be  kept  separate  and 
clear,  such  as  strings  alone,  flute  alone,  reeds  (oboe,  saxophone,  French 
horn,  cornopean,  etc.),  alone,  whenever  possible.  Tone  qualities  should 
no  more  be  mixed  promiscuously  than  all  ten  fingers  should  be  put  on  the 
keys  in  long  stretches  of  injudicious  chord  playing.  It  is  best  to  avoid 
close  harmony.  It  is  generally  safe  to  adhere  to  the  effect  of  a  solo  instru- 
ment with  accompaniment.  "Full  organ"  should  be  avoided  except  in 
special  instances.  As  a  rule,  the  organ  should  rather  suggest  its  presence 
than  make  itself  overpoweringly  felt.  The  music  must  vitalize  the  action 
on  the  screen,  not  absorb  the  attention  of  the  spectator,  or  deaden  his 
ears.  In  the  "movies",  a  mere  finger-acrobat  becomes  a  nuisance.  On 
the  other  hand,  it  is  dangerous  to  overwork  soft  stops  and  echo  effects. 
A  constant  "murmur"  of  the  organ  is  most  irritating.  Light  and  shade 
should  vary  according  to  the  picture's  progress.  If  possible,  one  should 
not  make  a  crescendo  to  full  organ  more  than  once  during  a  picture.  An 
overuse  of  glaring  and  striking  tone  colors  is  undesirable.  To  be  sure, 
there  are  certain  situations  where  nothing  but  a  distinctive  kind  of  reed 
will  express  either  the  diabolical  expression  of  a  face  or  the  gruesomeness 
of  a  scene.     But  "atmosphere"  is  more  effective  than  strident  noise. 

The  player  should  try  to  develop  his  musical  resourcefulness  chiefly  by 
cultivating  his  talent  for  improvisation.  This  does  not  necessarily  mean 
that  he  must  be  gifted  as  a  composer  and  originator  of  musical  ideas, 
although  this  abihty  will  prove  his  supreme  asset.     But  it  will  suffice  if  he 


8       MUSICAL  ACCOMPANIMENT  OF  MOVING   PICTURES 

learns  to  handle  a  given  theme,  or  rather  several  of  them,  by  the  means  of 
rhythmical  or  modal  variation,  by  extension  or  diminution,  by  change  of 
tone  register  and  by  contrapuntal  combination. 

b.  Musical  Characterization 

The  kernel  of  the  musical  illustration  of  a  picture  is  the  main  theme. 
This  should  be  typical  in  mood  or  character  of  the  hero  or  heroine.  It 
should  have  emotional  appeal,  it  should  be  easily  recognizable  and  admit 
of  such  treatment  as  mentioned  above.  This  theme  should  be  announced 
in  the  introduction,  it  should  be  emphasized  at  the  first  appearance  of  the 
person  with  whom  it  is  linked,  and  it  should  receive  its  ultimate  glorification, 
by  means  of  tonal  volume,  etc. ,  in  the  finale  of  the  film.  Added  to  this,  there 
will  be  as  many  subsidiary  themes  as  there  are  secondary  characters  in  the 
film.  This  does  not  mean  that  every  face  that  appears  on  the  screen  must 
be  labelled  with  a  musical  motive.  This  procedure  apphes  only  to  the 
characters  that  are  really  concerned  in  the  progress  of  the  action.  The 
villain  will  be  characterized  by  a  sinister  or  sombre  theme,  the  comedian  by 
a  light  and  frivolous  one,  and  so  on. 


c.  Thematic  Development 

The  treatment  and  development  of  these  musical  themes,  for  purposes 
of  picture  accompaniment,  is  very  much  in  the  nature  of  the  treatment 
given  to  a  musical  idea  in  the  course  of  a  composition  such  as  a  sonata  or 
symphony.  But,  while  the  player  cannot  be  urged  too  strongly  to  study 
such  works,  the  aim  of  this  book  will  probably  be  best  served  by  freeing 
the  subject  of  its  more  intricate  technicalities  and  by  plainly  stating  a  few 
methods  through  which  this  musical  alteration  or  variation  of  a  theme 
may  be  accomplished. 

Let  us  take  for  instance  an  emotional  theme  such  as : 
Ex.  A 

Aiidanfe 

6tr  8,  Fl  8'-Saxophone  Solo-  light  string  and    flntp  accnrnpanimpnt 


If  this  theme  were  to  represent  the  heroine  in  ordinary  circumstances,  her 
appearance  under  emotional  stress  or  afflicted  with  sorrow  might  be  char- 
acterized by  playing  the  theme  in  the  minor  mode,  as  follows : 


THEMATIC   DEVELOPMENT 


Ex.  B 


At  a  moment  of  hesitation,  of  doubt,  or  when  placed  in  the  necessity  of 
making  a  decision,  the  heroine  might  be  characterized  by  a  "breaking" 
of  the  theme  in  the  following  manner : 
Ex.  C 


Moderate 

Light  reeds  -  one  manual 


S^ 


-t 5— *5: 

•^       ^      4^ 


^ 


^ 


^ * 


zm 


^s 


y  rinoluto 


S; 


^~rT?p 


i 


Her  anxiety  might  be  expressed  by  taking  the  theme  in  a  rhythmically 
quicker  form,  and  if  this  anxiety  was  caused  by  pleasant  anticipation,  the 
theme  would  naturally  be  given  in  major : 

Ex.  D 

Allegretto 
Flutes  8;  4' 


Harp  accompanimPDt 

while  it  would  be  given  in  minor,  if  her  anxiety  was  caused  by  apprehen- 
sion or  fear,  as  follows : 

Ex.  E 

Agitato 

Str.  8^  Fl.  8;  4',  Bassoon  16'  (Cboe  on  16'  coupler) 


Attention  should  be  called  to  the  way  in  which  these  various  examples 
are  treated  with  respect  to  registration  and  accompaniment.  They  will 
offer  an  outlook  on  the  great  variety  that  may  be  accompUshed  by  judicious 


10     MUSICAL  ACCOMPANIMENT  OF  MOVING   PICTURES 


manipulation.  Only  a  few  basic  emotions  have  here  been  illustrated.  A 
wider  range  of  psychological  insight  will  suggest  to  the  player  a  greater 
number  of  possibilities  in  such  manipulation.  The  player  should  always 
seek  to  differentiate  in  each  return  of  the  theme,  during  the  film,  so  that 
new  interest  will  enhance  its  appeal.  An  effective  means  of  variation 
is  offered  by  placing  the  melody  in  a  lower  register  and  ornating  it  in  the 
treble  with  appropriate  figure  work,  as  given  here : 

Ex.  F 

Adagio  molto  espressivo 


This  treatment  might  suggest  itself  if  the  hero  were  pictured  in  a  meditation 
of  which  the  heroine  is  the  subject,  or  if  he  were  reading  a  letter  received 
from  her,  in  other  words,  if  the  heroine  did  not  actually  enter  into  the  picture 
but  if  the  thought  of  her  was  implied  by  the  action  of  others.  The  "  mood  " 
of  a  theme  can  be  totally  changed  by  altering  the  rhythm.  For  instance, 
our  theme,  originally  played  in  common  time,  gains  in  "lightness"  and 
airiness  if  presented  in  three-four  time. 


Ex.  G 


fe 


Grazioso 

Oboe,  Piccolo 


^ 


^S 


itrln^B  aod  Flute  ace.  ^^  « 


m^ 


n 


/T#<'|t     .f 

— ■  - 

■^^                   " 

■^"              ^^^  ■*■ 

p=-j 1 

**-)h. 

V 

' — 

V 

p    r    V 

r     ^ 

-^-j — 

^■'  ''    cJ 

1 

r    F  ' 

THEMATIC   DEVELOPMENT 


11 


Such  treatment  will  be  appropriate  for  a  scene  in  which  the  heroine  is 
pictured  in  particularly  pleasant  and  happy  circumstances  or  actually  danc- 
ing.   On  the  other  hand,  a  theme  that  was  originally  presented  in  three- 
four  time : 
Ex.  H 

Larghetto 

Mclo^ia  or  soft  Flute  -  both  hands 


^ 


mp  - 


^m 


I 


^ 


>"/ 


m 


WTf 


might  be  given  "weight"  by  lengthening  the  measure  into  one  of  four- 
four,  as  follows : 
Ex.  I 

Maestoso 


Full  Or^an 


n 


^ 


fa, 


m 


Jfc 


^ 


te 


m 


Greater  emotional  intensity  will  be   suggested  by  playing  the  original 
theme  to  an  accompaniment  of  nine-eight. 
Ex.  J 

Largo,  ma  non  troppo 

strings  16,' 8,' 4', '.i'— both  hands  on  the  samp  manual 


lO     1     r 

1 

h 

J-'<^VT 

TTi--  - 

Iw  I-,  ,. 

.    .  .    J ^ 

\T    X  \  T 

_iL_i_J_5_5 — 

Y^    \\\ 

\ — 

r 

w  ■ 

*■     ■ 

■ — « 

f 

1 ^ 

, 

•J 

' ^ 

1-^ — 

1 

*■' 

1 

. i- 1 

12     MUSICAL  ACCOMPANIMENT  OF  MOVING   PICTURES 

All  such  variations  should  be  accompanied  by  change  in  organ  regis- 
tration. While  it  is  not  easy  to  identify  each  stop  or  tone  color  with  a 
special  character  or  emotion,  it  may  be  safe  to  recommend,  for  purposes 
of  general  guidance,  the  indications  given  on  pages  54  and  55. 

What  has  been  said  with  regard  to  the  theme  characterizing  the  heroine, 
applies  equally  to  any  other  that  may  be  chosen  for  the  hero.  But  in  all 
cases,  these  themes  should  be  sufficiently  "striking,"  so  that  the  audience 
can  easily  identify  and  remember  them.  In  all  their  changes  they  should 
remain  easily  recognizable.  Therefore  it  might  be  said  that  ordinarily  a 
theme  that  moves  diatonically,  that  is  step-wise,  will  not  stand  out  so  well 
as  one  that  has  at  least  one  or  two  skips.     For  example : 


is  preferable  to 


As  we  said  before,  not  only  persons  may  be  characterized  by  musical 
themes,  but  also  locaUties.  If,  for  instance,  the  action  is  laid  recurrently 
in  a  certain  place,  this  locality  should  always  be  announced  by  the  same 
theme.  However,  variation  is  essential  here,  as  in  other  cases ;  and  if  we 
may  take  for  example  a  garden  scene,  this  garden  in  sunhght  might  be 
characterized  as  follows : 

Un  poco  vivace 

Flute  4' 


while  the  same  place,  shrouded  in  twiUght,  might  suggest  the  following 
treatment  of  the  theme  : 


Placido 

Vox  humana  -  both  hands  Fame  maonal 


.,,/?5rpi^.    ^ii^^^ 


p  tutto  legato 


Prf 


TRANSITION  AND   MODULATION  13 

As  a  matter  of  course,  different  weather  conditions  will  demand  different 
music.  On  page  57  you  will  find  suggestions  for  rain,  for  the  approach 
and  breaking  of  a  thunderstorm,  etc.  However,  all  those  effects  are  in- 
dividually distinctive  and  are  not  the  result  of  thematic  "development." 

Hand  in  hand  with  changes  of  thematic  variation,  of  organ  registration, 
and  of  time,  should  go  judicious  changes  in  tonality.  The  player  should  be 
cautioned  that,  when  selecting  his  themes,  he  see  to  it  that  they  are  not 
all  in  the  same  key,  so  that  he  achieve  in  the  course  of  his  performance  a 
pleasing  variety  of  tonalities.  Nor  is  it  advisable  to  adhere  for  too  long  a 
time  to  tonahties  that  are  all  in  fiats,  or  to  those  that  are  all  in  sharps. 
Sometimes  a  player  has  certain  likes  and  dislikes  for  given  keys.  These 
he  should  eliminate  and  make  himself  proficient  in  all  of  the  keys.  It  is 
particularly  objectionable  when  the  player  slavishly  adheres  to  the  "black 
keys, "  and  gives  a  whole  evening's  performance  in  D-flat  or  G-flat.  There 
are  certain  keys  such  as  A-flat  and  E-flat  which  suggest  "warmth"  or 
languor,  such  as  B-fiat  minor  or  G  minor  which  fit  a  mood  of  sorrow  and 
grief,  such  as  A  or  D  major  which  lend  themselves  to  brilliancy,  such  as  E 
major  which  suggests  "clear  skies"  or  "the  ocean's  wide  expanse."  Said 
ocean,  lashed  into  rollers  by  the  fury  of  the  wind,  will  naturally  demand 
more  agitated  music  than  the  placid  surface  in  a  calm,  and  possibly  the 
player  may  find  that  he  will  also  wish  to  differentiate  in  a  key  in  which  this 
raging  element  may  find  a  fit  illustration.  Melodies  of  a  meditative  char- 
acter or  of  a  religious  nature  often  gain  when  played  in  the  key  of  F.  The 
key  of  C  has  nothing  to  commend  it,  except  that  after  long  wanderings 
through  the  rich  realms  of  sharp  or  fiat  tonalities,  it  is  most  gratifying  to 
hear  the  crisp  and  bright  "key  of  keys."  These  suggestions,  in  regard  to 
the  nature  and  individual  color  of  certain  keys,  are  approximations,  at 
best,  and  experiments  have  shown  that  different  people  react  differently 
to  the  effect  of  various  keys.  But  at  least  they  will  make  the  player 
curious  to  investigate  for  himself  and  serve  to  make  him  realize  that  there 
exists  a  distinction  between  one  tonality  and  another.  He  will  quickly  see 
that  "transposition"  from  one  key  to  another  will  lend  to  his  theme  a  varied 
aspect  and  that  it  forms  one  of  the  easiest  ways  of  obtaining  contrast. 

d.  Transition  and  Modulation 

This  leads  to  one  of  the  most  important  points  to  which  the  player 
should  give  special  attention  and  continued  study,  namely  to  that  of 
smooth  musical  transition  or  effective  modulation.  By  the  scope  given  to 
this  subject  in  the  textbooks  on  harmony,  it  can  be  easily  seen  how  essential 
its  mastery  is.  The  player  who  is  not  already  familiar  with  this  chapter  of 
musical  harmony  will  do  well  to  enlarge  his  knowledge  by  carefully  reading 
chapter  XI  in  J.  Humphrey  Anger's  "Treatise  on  Harmony,"  part  I. 


14     MUSICAL  ACCOMPANIMENT  OF   MOVING   PICTURES 

For  the  practical  use  of  the  "movie"  player  there  are,  however,  certain 
"tricks"  of  modulation  which  it  may  be  well  to  point  out  here.  As  a 
general  rule  the  player  should  bear  in  mind  that  his  transitions  should  never 
be  abrupt,  unless  a  special  graphic  end  may  be  gained  thereby.  He  should 
take  time  and  care  with  his  modulations.  But  what  the  following  examples 
intend  to  teach,  is  more  a  principle  than  an  appUcation.  Only  continued 
practice  will  make  the  apphcation  a  matter  of  ease  and  surety. 

The  simplest  modulations  are  the  natural  ones  from  one  key  into  its 
related  keys,  namely  those  of  the  (1)  dominant,  (2)  sub-dominant,  (3) 
relative,  and  (4)  parallel  minor  keys  ;  or  for  instance  :  from  C  major  to  (1) 
G  (major),  (2)  F  (major  or  minor),  (3)  A  minor,  and  (4)  C  minor.  There  is 
hardly  a  composition  in  which  one  or  several  of  these  modulations  are  not 
used  ;  they  may  be  readily  found  in  any  text-book.  However,  text-book 
demonstrations  are  generally,  and  for  the  sake  of  clearness,  written  in 
chord  progressions  which  form  the  harmonic  skeleton  of  the  melodic 
progress.     Such  presentation  as  the  following : 


c  toCl- 


C  to  CK 


may  admirably  show  the  underlying  harmonies,  which,  properly  connected, 
form  the  basis  of  a  modulation  from  one  key  to  its  two  chromatically  adja- 
cent keys  (from  C  to  Cb,  or  from  C  to  Cft),  but  they  will  decidedly  not  do 
for  our  purposes.  The  player  should,  in  fact,  carefully  shun  anything  that 
sounds  like  the  wearisome  chord  progressions  favored  by  dihgent  and 
patient  piano  tuners.  The  text-book  style  of  4-part  harmony,  at  its  best, 
too  closely  resembles  church  music ;  and  unless  a  picture  actually  shows  a 
church  or  reUgious  function,  the  suggestion  of  the  organ  as  an  instrument 
associated  with  religious  worship  should  be  strictly  avoided  in  the  theatre. 
The  many  voices  of  the  organ  should  always  approximate  the  quality  of 
an  orchestra,  and  only  in  particular  cases  remind  you  of  the  choir  loft ! 
Nevertheless,  the  study  of  textbooks  on  harmony,  and  principally  on 
modulation,  is  an  invaluable  help  in  understanding,  and  carrying  on  in- 
dependently, the  exposition  that  follows. 

Even  the  quickest  and  most  abrupt  modulation  that  the  turn  of  events, 
as  pictured  on  the  screen,  may  necessitate,  should  be  made  to  act  as  a 
melodic  (or  thematically  connecting)  Hnk  as  well  as  a  harmonic  bridge. 
No  matter  how  short  a  motive  maj^  be,  it  will  always  serve  to  emphasize 
the  organic  nature  of  a  modulation.  It  may  either  echo  a  theme  that  is 
about  to  be  discarded,  or  anticipate  a  new  one  that  is  to  be  introduced. 


TRANSITION  AND   MODULATION  15 

Which  method  the  player  should  follow  depends  somewhat  on  the  picture, 
namely  whether  the  action  is  receding  from  a  moment  of  intensity  (in 
which  case  the  "intense"  motive  will  be  "reechoed")  or  whether  it  is 
progressing  to  such  a  moment  (in  which  case  the  "intense"  motive  will 
act  as  a  "foreboding").  These  simple  devices  offer  specimens  of  the 
many  "psychologic"  possibihties  of  modulation  in  connection  with  the 
proper  use  of  motives  and  special  themes. 

In  modulating  from  one  key  ("given  key")  to  another  ("prospective 
key"),  it  may  be  found  that  the  related  keys  (see  above)  of  the  prospec- 
tive key  are  more  easily  reached  than  the  prospective  key  itself.  In  such 
cases  the  modulation  will,  of  necessity,  be  a  httle  more  circuitous;  but 
what  it  loses  in  directness,  it  will  gain  in  musical  effectiveness.  It  makes 
the  modulation  more  "convincing,"  if  the  prospective  key  is  reached  by 
way  of  its  relative  minor  key,  or  by  way  of  its  sub-dominant.  The  most 
obvious  method,  and  that  which  in  all  cases  may  be  regarded  as  the  safest 
approach,  is  a  modulation  to  the  dominant  of  the  prospective  key.  With  the 
seventh  degree  added  to  the  tonic  triad  of  the  dominant  key,  the  dominant- 
seventh  chord  of  the  prospective  key  is  estabhshed,  and  from  it  the  modu- 
lation will  drop  logically  into  the  tonic  triad  of  the  prospective  key.     For  ex- 


ample, G  being  the  dominant  of  C,  the  chord  %")  ^       becomes  ^   " 
and  leads  into  ^   "      |  .     Therefore  the  player  will  do  well  to  practice  such 


modulations  at  the  keyboard,  aiming  to  reach  the  (1)  dominant,  or  (2) 
subdominant,  or  (3)  relative  minor,  or  (4)  parallel  minor  keys  of  the  pro- 
spective key.  But  such  procedure,  while  of  excellent  musical  effect,  is 
often  lengthy  and  might  prevent  the  player  from  following  the  speed  of 
pictured  events.  Hence,  for  purposes  of  instantaneous  or  quick  modu- 
lation, the  following  methods  are  recommended. 

I.   Modulation  with  the  /  unaltered  (see  Ex.  la-IVa  and  Ib-IVb) 

aid  of  pivotal  note     \  enharmonically  changed  (see  Ex.  V  and  VI). 

II.   Modulation  with  the  r  unchanged  (see  Ex.  Vila,  b,  c) 

aid  of  pivotal  chord  I  chromatically  altered  (see  Ex.  Villa,  b,  c). 

III.  Modulation  with  the  J  in  the  "given  key"  so  as  to  suggest,  or 

aid  of  motive  altered  \lead  into  the  "prospective  key"  (see  Ex.  IX). 

IV.  Modulation  with  the  aid  of  diminished-seventh  chords  (see  Ex.  X). 

I.  With  regard  to  the  first  method,  it  becomes  at  once  apparent  that 
the  success  of  its  employment  depends  largely  upon  the  selection  of  the 
proper  tone  as  pivot.     In  the  examples   la-IVa,   and  Ib-IVb,  the  same 


16     MUSICAL  ACCOMPANIMENT  OF  MOVING   PICTURES 

modulations  have  been  effected  by  the  use  of  different  pivotal  notes,  all  of 
which  serve  the  purpose.  By  analyzing  the  examples  the  player  will  find 
that  the  notes  of  the  "given"  chords  wliich  were  ?iot  used  as  pivots  would 
have  probably  proved  less  helpful  to,  if  not  actually  prevented,  a  smooth 
and  convincing  progression. 

Pivotal  note  (*)  unaltered: 
Ex.  la 


NB.     If  a  Bb  is  substituted  for  the  B^,  the  modulation  "tends"  towards  G  minor, 
and  from  there  Eb  major,  Ab  major  or  minor,  etc.  may  be  reached. 

Ex.  Ila 


NB.     With  a  CS  instead  of  the  Cl,  the  modulation  will  "  tend  "  towards  A  major, 
and  from  there  to  Ftt  minor,  etc. 

Ex.  Ilia 


NB.     With  good  effect,  a  DS  could  replace  the  Dtl,  and  the  modulation  would  then 
lead  to  B  major,  or  from  there  to  Gft  minor  and  major,  or  F#  major,  etc. 


Ex.  IVa 


NB.     With  a  G^  and  C^  in  the  chord,  instead  of  the  OS  and  Ctf,  the  modulation 
leads  to  E  minor,  and  from  there  to  C  major,  or  any  other  related  and  accessible  key. 


TRANSITION  AND   MODULATION 


17 


Ex.  lb 


rf#=?=4— ^ 

1 ] 

s= 

p==^ 

5^ 

--r- — 

1       — ■] 

to  G 

\^=^^ 

!»-= 

-fs=: ^ 

^==j 

■3-: 

Ex.  lib 


Ex.  Illb 


^^^ 


,.-i^ 


f^ 


f-^tir 


3^= 


1N 


^i 


^ 


to  B  min.l 

5g^4" — 


~^ 


Ex.  IVb' 


Pivotal  note  (*)  enharmonically  changed . 
Ex.  V 


Compare  this  modulation  with  Ex.  Ill ! 
Ex.  VI 


In  this  example  two  notes  form  the  pivotal  link,  one  of  which  is  enharmonically 
changed,  the  other  remains  unaltered. 


18     MUSICAL  ACCOMPANIMENT  OF  MOVING   PICTURES 

II.  The  success  of  the  second  method  is  dependent  on  a  quick  discern- 
ment as  to  which  of  the  notes  in  the  "given"  chord  will  point  by  either 
suspension  ^  or  anticipation  ^  to  the  "prospective"  chord.  The  devices  of 
suspension  and  anticipation  are  most  valuable  aids  in  modulation,  and,  if 
tastefully  employed,  will  greatly  enhance  the  music.  And  yet  it  may  not 
be  out  of  place  to  say  here  a  word  against  the  abuse  of  "chromatically" 
creeping  modulations,  which  soon  become  cloying  and  lose  the  inherent 
charm  which  they  possess  when  used  with  moderation. 

Pivotal  chord,  unchanged : 

Ex.  VII 

a) 


Pivotal  chord,  chromatically  altered 

Ex.  VIII 

a)      .  b) 


1  A  suspension  is  the  name  given  to  a  discord  formed  by  the  holding  over,  or  prolongation, 
of  a  note  from  one  chord  to  which  it  belongs  into  another  to  which  it  does  not  belong ;  this 
dissonant  note  is  then  resolved  by  rising  or  falling  (usually  the  latter)  one  degree  to  the  note 
to  which  it  would  have  proceeded  directly  had  it  not  been  held  over.  It  is  possible  to  hold 
over  more  than  one  note  from  one  chord  to  another,  viz.  two  or  three,  etc.,  when  the  suspen- 
sion is  called  double  or  triple,  etc. 

normal  pinple  fjpp.  double  stisp.  triple  supp. 


'  An  anticipation  is  the  name  given  to  a  dissonant  note  introduced  into  one  chord  and 
held  over,  as  a  consonant  note,  in  the  succeeding  chord.  Sometimes  double  and  triple  antici- 
pations are  employed. 

normal  single  anticip.  dou'ole  antlclp.  triple  antlelp 


TRANSITION  AND  MODULATION 


19 


III.  For  practical  purposes,  the  third  of  these  methods  is  undoubtedly 
one  of  the  simplest  and  quickest.  It  is  advisable  to  lead  into  the  "transi- 
tory recitative"  (first  measures  of  Ex.  IX)  without  "straining"  or  altering 
the  tonahty,  so  that  the  "given"  key  is  established  before  the  transition 
begins.  But  in  cases  of  emergency,  for  which  this  method  is  invaluable,  the 
"transitory  recitative"  may  be  taken  up  almost  at  any  point,  so  long  as 
the  outUne  of  the  motive,  no  matter  how  much  it  may  be  chromatically  or 
diatonically  altered,  remains  sufficiently  recognizable.  The  "transitory 
recitative"  is  virtually  the  melody  in  a  chain  of  modulating  chords,  in 
which  these  chords  have  been  omitted.  If  they  are  replaced,  as  in  IXf 
(which  achieves  the  same  modulation  as  IXe,  where  they  are  omitted) 
it  cannot  be  truthfully  said  that  this  replacement,  heavy  and  "text- 
bookish"  as  it  sounds,  adds  anything  to  the  modulation,  in  beauty  or 
effectiveness.     On  the  contrary,  it  sounds  involved  and  sluggish. 

Modulatory  recitative : 
Ex.  IX 


IV.  Any  diminished-seventh  chord,  such  as  that  given  in  Ex.  X,  in 
all  of  its  inversions,  is  a  means  of  instantaneous  modulation.  In  Ex.  X 
the  same  diminished-seventh  chord,  in  its  various  inversions,  is  made  to 
serve  as  a  modulatory  Unk  to  the  dominant-seventh  chord  of  all  the  twelve 
tonalities  (major  and  minor)  which  are  comprised  in  our  present  musical 
system.  That  the  dominant-seventh  chord,  in  all  twelve  cases,  is  intro- 
duced by  the  suspension  of  one  of  the  notes  in  the  chord,  is  not  a  matter  of 
accident;  it  cannot  be  stated  too  often  that  by  the  aid  of  suspensions 
smoothness  will  be  added  to  almost  every  modulation. 


20     MUSICAL  ACCOMPANIMENT  OF  MOVING   PICTURES 

Modulation  with  a  diminished-seventh  chord: 
Ex.  X 


(orb) 


(orM 


The  introduction  of  the  diminished-seventh  chord  itself  is  a  matter  de- 
manding but  Uttle  skill.  For  any  one,  though  only  just  beginning  to  be 
familiar  with  the  art  of  improvisation,  will  quickly  see  how  easily  a 
melodic  phrase  may  be  deflected  into  a  chord  of  this  nature.  Ex.  XI 
will  demonstrate  this  with  the  aid  of  our  original  theme. 

Ex.  XI 


TRANSPOSITION  21 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  both  Ex.  XIa  and  Xlb  lead  each  into  a  different 
diminished-seventh  chord,  the  one  reached  at  the  conclusion  of  Xlb  being 
identical  with  the  one  from  which  Ex.  X  proceeds.  The  player  will 
notice  that  a  very  pleasing  effect  may  be  obtained  by  joining  Ex.  XIa 
and  b,  and  he  will  pay  particular  attention  to  the  fact  that  from  the  close 
of  Ex.  Xlb  he  may  immediately  go  into  the  second  measure  of  any  one  of 
the  twelve  examples  in  Ex.  X.  This,  and  similar  experiments,  should 
be  repeatedly  and  diligently  tried,  for  they  are  invaluable  in  giving 
the  player  that  musical  resourcefulness  of  which  the  abiUty  quickly 
and  effectively  to  modulate  forms  such  an  important  part.  It  cannot 
be  too  highly  recommended  to  all  students,  seriously  desiring  to  perfect 
themselves  in  this  field,  that  they  combine  with  the  absorption  of  the 
hints,  given  above,  a  careful  study  of  modulatory  devices  as  presented 
in  text-books  and,  most  of  all,  in  the  works  of  the  masters.  The  piano 
compositions  of  Chopin,  Schumann,  Liszt,  and  Cesar  Franck  will  prove 
an  inexhaustible  source  of  instruction  and  inspiration.  Only  by  going 
to  works  of  art  for  the  necessary  model,  may  the  player  eventually  hope 
to  shape  his  task  into  another  expression  of  musical  art,  and  so  gain 
the  true  purpose  of  his  mission.  In  the  selection  of  modulatory  devices, 
as  in  everything  else,  the  player  should  carefully  refrain  from  adhering 
too  closely  or  exclusively  to  one  and  the  same  form.  Mannerisms  and 
bad  habits  are  easily  acquired.  Variety  is  the  principal  aim  that  should 
be  sought. 

e.  Transposition 

Another  valuable  source  of  help  to  the  player  is  his  abihty  to  transpose 
any  piece  of  music,  theme  or  motive,  into  any  key.  Such  faculty  pre- 
supposes a  certain  familiarity  with  harmony  and  with  the  principal  types 
of  chords.  To  read  at  sight  a  composition  in  a  key,  different  from  that  in 
which  it  appears  on  the  printed  page,  demands  training  and  mental 
alertness.  If  the  player  should  try  to  transpose  each  note  into  the  higher 
or  lower  interval  desired,  as  the  piece  progresses,  he  would  find  it  slow  work 
and  impossible  to  give  an  adequate  performance  of  the  piece.  In  order  to 
overcome  this  obstacle  the  player  should  learn  to  read  melodies  by  giving 
them  a  universal  scale-appellation,  not  according  to  the  actual  pitch  of 
each  note  but  to  the  degree  which  it  represents  in  the  scale  of  that  particular 
piece.  In  other  words,  he  should  give  each  of  the  seven  degrees  of  the 
scale  its  general  scale-appellation, 

do  —  re  —  mi  — fa  —  sol  —  la  —  ti 

so  that  the  third  degree  of  the  scale,  no  matter  in  what  key,  will  always  be 
mi,  or  the  sixth  degree  always  la.    Thus,  if  he  has  learned  to  read  the 


22     MUSICAL  ACCOMPANIMENT  OF   MOVING   PICTURES 

"Star-Spangled  Banner"  according  to  this  method,  he  will  read  the  be- 
ginning as 

n\j  J  J  N  i^iJ  J  J  N 

sol     mi        do     ml     sol         do       mi      re       do    ml    fat        sol 

and  be  able  to  transpose  the  melody,  with  its  proper  harmonies,  into  any 
other  key  by  simply  adjusting  the  tonic  do  to  the  key  desired.  The  melody 
of  our  theme  would  read  accordingly,  in  the  original  Key  of  C, 

and   tranepoiied 
to  the  key  of  AP. 

mi  fa  fat  sal    do      mi     re  do  fat  mi  fa  fat  Sol  do     mi  re  do  fat 

The  symbol  of  -^  before  the  3d  and  9th  notes  of  the  melody  simply 
signifies  that  the  notes  are  raised  a  semi-tone ;  as  is  seen  in  the  transposi- 
tion, the  raise  is  actually  effected  by  a  li,  since  the  degree  of  fa  in  the 
scale  of  Ab  has  a  "flat."  This  leads  to  the  remark  that  in  transposition 
from  a  key  with  sharps  into  a  key  with  flats,  the  S  becomes  a  tj,  the  x 
becomes  a  ft,  the  ti  becomes  a  b,  the  b  becomes  abb;  and  on  the  other 
hand,  in  transposing  from  a  key  with  flats  into  a  key  with  sharps,  the  b 
becomes  a  ti,  the  bb  becomes  a  b,  the  ^  becomes  a  *f,  and  the  ^  becomes  a  x. 
One  of  the  simpler  transpositions  is  that  in  which  the  notes  on  the  staff 
remain  the  same,  only  the  kej^  signature  is  altered,  as  for  instance  from  G 
to  Gb,  in  which  case  the  signature  of  one  sharp  turns  into  one  of  six  flats. 
In  transposing  from  the  key  of  Ab  to  that  of  A  natural,  the  signature 
changes  from  four  flats  to  three  sharps,  and  all  accidentals  are  altered  in 
the  way  indicated  above. 

In  order  to  verify  and  assimilate  these  rules,  it  will  prove  most  helpful 
to  carry  out  a  few  transpositions  on  paper,  first  a  semitone  up  and  down, 
with  the  notes  remaining  the  same  on  the  staff'  and  only  a  change  in  acci- 
dentals taking  place,  later  choosing  larger  intervals  of  transposition,  at 
which  to  raise  or  lower  the  key,  in  which  instances  the  notes  on  the  staff 
also  will  change.  However,  all  intervals  of  the  original  remain  relatively 
the  same  in  the  transposed  key,  and  by  reading  intervals  instead  of  notes, 
that  is,  by  adopting  the  substitution  of  general  scale  degrees  {do  —  re  —  mi 
etc.)  for  the  actual  notes  played,  this  transposition  may  be  effected  with 
ease  and  a  measure  of  surety  that  depends  only  on  the  greater  or  lesser 
experience  of  the  player. 

f.  Improvisation 

The  talent  for  musical  improvisation  is  closely  linked  with  that  of  musical 
composition.  As  a  rule,  great  composers,  and  among  them  particularly 
those  who  excelled  as  organists  —  such  as  Bach,  Mendelssohn,  and  Franck 
— possessed  that  gift  to  a  supreme  degree.  Hence,  the  acquisition  of  a 
certain  faciUty  in  improvising  is  equivalent  to  a  study  of  the  principles 
involved  in  composition,  added  to  keyboard  proficiency. 


IMPROVISATION  23 

Since  the  study  of  composition  presupposes  familiarity  with  the  rules  of 
harmony,  a  book  hke  "  Keyboard  Harmony, "  by  Uselma  C.  Smith,  does  not 
only  impart  the  necessary  knowledge,  but  presents  it  at  once  in  a  manner 
which  makes  it  applicable  to  the  practical  use  of  the  student.  The  first 
thing  to  learn  is  the  nature  of  the  various  scales,  intervals  and  chords; 
next,  the  proper  joining  of  chords ;  finally  the  arrangement  of  chords  in 
musical  cadences  and  phrases. 

To  improvise  at  the  keyboard,  means  to  let  one's  natural  musical 
fancy  dictate  to  the  fingers,  while  one's  acquired  critical  faculty  constantly 
directs  and  supervises  the  result  of  that  dictation.  It  may  also  be  called 
"hstening  to  an  inner  voice,"  which  voice  need  not  always  be  essentially 
original,  but  will  often,  and  certainly  at  first,  reecho  with  a  slightly  differ- 
ent inflection  outer  voices  that  the  player  has  heard  before  and  now  vaguely 
remembers. 

In  order  to  awaken  a  tendency  for  improvisation,  you  should  try  to 
SING  a  short  melody  of  not  more  than  eight  measures,  or  eight  accented 
beats,  and  see  that  the  melody  you  sing  does  not  actually  resemble  some 
other  tune  that  you  know.  In  doing  this  you  will  have  made  the  first 
step  on  the  road  to  improvisation.  Be  sure  to  REMEMBER  the  melody 
that  you  have  thus  created,  by  singing  it  over  and  by  listening  carefully 
to  it  until  you  have  firmly  settled  it  in  your  mind.  Then  ascertain  the 
rhythm  of  your  melody,  and  see  whether  it  is  in  common  time,  in  f  time 
or  in  some  other  rhythm.  When  you  have  done  this,  you  should  try  to 
reahze  the  position  of  the  melody's  first  note  in  the  scale  {i.e.  whether  the 
melody  begins  with  mi,  sol,  do,  or  any  other  degree  of  the  scale),  locate 
the  pitch  of  the  melody  on  the  piano  or  organ  to  correspond  to  that  in 
which  you  have  been  singing  it,  and  then  PLAY  your  melody  on  the  key- 
board. Let  us  take  as  an  example  an  obvious  melody,  that  might  begin 
as  f oUows : 


You  will  see  that  the  musical  phrase  (I)  is  built  on  a  motive  (1)  which  corre- 
sponds to  a  rhythm  of  two  eighth  notes  followed  by  a  quarter  note.  This 
rhythmical  motive  is  repeated,  or  answered,  by  the  identical  rhythm  but 
with  different  notes,  for  simple  reasons  of  symmetry  (one  of  the  funda- 
mental principles  in  musical  composition),  thus  forming  one  half  of  the 
first  phrase ;  the  next  half  contains  as  many  notes  as  the  first,  but  they 
are  rhythmically  grouped  in  a  different  order.  Phrase  (II)  follows  the 
rhythmic  scheme  of  (I).  Let  us  assume  the  melody  continues  in  the  fol- 
lowing way : 


24     MUSICAL  ACCOMPANIMENT  OF  MOVING   PICTURES 


In  the  third  phrase  we  encounter  the  rhythmic  motive  of  the  beginning 
reversed,  i.e.,  one  quarter  note  followed  by  two  eighth  notes,  then  answered 
by  its  original  form,  the  whole  constituting  one  half  of  the  phrase ;  the 
second  half  is  rhythmically  identical  with  the  first  half.  In  the  fourth 
phrase,  the  first  half  is  a  rhythmic  repetition  of  the  melody's  very  begin- 
ning, and  the  conclusion  of  the  phrase,  being  also  the  end  of  the  melody, 
imitates  rhythmically  the  conclusions  of  the  first  and  second  phrase,  but 
comes  to  a  stronger  and  more  decided  stop  on  the  third  beat  of  the  meas- 
ure (instead  of  on  the  fourth). 

Thus  we  have  analyzed  the  rhji:hmical  skeleton  of  the  melody.  That 
it  is  composed  of  four  groups  of  two  measures  each  is  not  a  matter  of 
accident.  As  a  rule,  and  the  exceptions  need  not  find  consideration  here, 
musical  phrases  are  built  up  by  hnking  groups  of  two  measures  into  sen- 
tences of  four  measures,  or  any  multiples  thereof. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  melodic  outline  of  our  tune.  The  first  three 
notes,  forming  our  rhythmic  motive,  are  ascending  step  by  step ;  they  are 
answered  by  a  descending  figure  which  starts  one  tone  higher  than  the 
first  motive  ends,  but  descends  to  the  same  note  with  which  the  measure 
began.  This  first  measure  in  turn  is  answered  by  a  figure  which  follows 
the  same  melodic  curve  of  ascent  and  descent,  but  is  rhythmically  varied. 
The  tliird  measure  starts  in  imitating  the  first,  but  reaches  higher  in  its 
second  half,  and  is  followed  by  a  measure  that  brings  the  two  phrases  to  a 
half-close.  The  fifth  measure  estabhshes  a  new  melodic  pattern  by 
making  a  bold  descent,  stepwise,  from  the  first  to  the  last  note  of  the 
measure ;  this  pattern  is  repeated  in  the  sixth  measure.  The  seventh 
measure  imitates  the  melodic  curve  of  the  very  beginning,  as  does  the 
eighth  measure,  only  that  this  drops  to  the  lowest  tone  of  the  whole 
melody  and  then  settles  in  the  final  note. 

The  next  step  for  the  student  is  to  try  to  hear  the  harmonic  basis  that 
underhes  the  melody.  He  may  experiment  at  the  kej'board  with  the 
chords  that  his  harmonic  knowledge  place  at  his  command,  and  he  may 
achieve  only  the  most  primitive  results  such  as  shown  in  Ex.  (1). 

Ex.   (1) 


IMPROVISATION 


25 


If  his  harmonic  knowledge  and  his  inner  ear  enable  him  to  detect  and  hear 
a  more  varied  harmonic  treatment,  he  may  play  the  melody  as  presented 
in  Ex.  (2)  and  (3). 

Ex.  (2) 


Ex.  (3) 

Allegretto 


26     MUSICAL  ACCOMPANIMENT  OF  MOVING   PICTURES 

It  should  be  stated  that  the  four-part  harmonization  of  Ex.  (2),  while 
harmonically  more  interesting  and  aesthetically  more  pleasing  than  Ex. 
(1),  is  nevertheless  too  much  after  the  "text-book"  fashion,  and  therefore 
far  removed  from  what  the  picture  organist  should  strive  for.  The  treat- 
ment of  the  accompaniment  in  Ex.  (3)  is  more  in  the  style  of  what  the  player 
should  always  hold  before  him  as  his  goal,  an  expressive  melody,  un- 
encumbered by  middle  voices,  and  simply  seconded  by  chords  that  form  a 
proper  harmonic  sequence,  broken  up,  or  figurated,  in  an  appropriate 
manner.  It  would  lead  too  far  to  present  here  all  the  problems  that  the 
player  will  meet  with  in  improvising.  But  let  it  be  clearly  understood  that 
this  improvisation  should  not  be  a  more  or  less  dexterous  finger  play.  The 
fingers  should  always  be  the  interpreters  of  a  song,  or  inner  voice,  that  the 
player  develops  and  carries  in  his  mind.  Only  thereby  can  he  hope  to 
impart  to  his  melodies  their  chief  quality,  which  is  expressiveness.  He  will 
naturally  hear  every  tune  in  a  certain  harmonic  garb,  and  to  disclose 
this,  as  well  as  the  tune  itself,  he  must  exercise  his  harmonic  sense. 
For  the  carrying  on,  and  thematic  development,  of  a  melody,  a  very 
excellent  practical  guide  may  be  found  in  a  little  work  on  "Extempori- 
zation" by  Dr.  Frank  J.  Sawyer.  The  methods  of  improvisation  will 
thereby  become  easily  understood,  and  the  student  will  be  enabled  to  work 
the  problems  out  for  himself  with  a  reasonable  degree  of  suretj'.  As  a 
further  practical  help,  no  book  could  be  recommended  more  strongly  than 
Edmondstoune  Duncan's  "Melodies  and  How  to  Harmonize  Them,"  which 
has  the  inestimable  advantage  of  possessing  a  key  by  the  same  author,  and 
published  separately,  which  will  supply  the  student  with  an  answer  to  all 
the  exercises,  should  he  find  difficulties  in  solving  them. 

With  these  remarks  we  bring  to  a  close  the  general  recommendations 
that  every  player  for  the  pictures  should  bear  in  mind.  Mental  alertness 
and  musical  resourcefulness  will  enable  any  one  who  is  gifted  with  sufficient 
technique  to  give  a  most  adequate  musical  interpretation  of  the  pictured 
scene.  With  a  certain  facility  in  improvisation  and  a  sense  of  dramatic 
values,  the  player  may  even  hope  to  accomplish  more  than  that,  and  really 
give  the  spectator  that  most  illusive  of  all  experiences,  a  thrill ! 

3.   Repertoire 

The  following  list,  without  attempting  to  be  exhaustive,  will  furnish 
the  player  with  enough  suggestions  to  make  his  repertoire  a  large  and 
varied  one.  It  cannot  be  emphasized  too  strongly,  that  constant  and 
diligent  search  for  new  material  is  all-important.  With  the  study  of  the 
classification  given  herewith,  the  player  will  learn  to  distinguish  musical 
moods  and  will  gain  surety  in  selecting  the  proper  material  for  each  scene 
that  he  may  encounter. 


REPERTOIRE 

2 

NATURE 

Bull.     .     .     . 

.     Melody 

Friml     . 

.     .     .     Iris 

Carvel  .     .     . 

.     Daffodils 

Friml     . 

.     .     .     Cherry  Blossoms 

Clough-Leighter 

In  the  Woodland 

Friml     . 

.     .     .     Woodland  Echoes 

Grieg     .     .     . 

Morning  Mood 

Lind 

.     .     .     Evensong 

Meyer-  Helmund 

In  the  Moonlight 

Marshal-Loepke      Falling  Snow 

Nevin    .     .     . 

Country  Dance 

Moter   . 

.     .     .     In  the  Country 

Nevin    .     .     . 

Song  of  the  Brook 

Orth      . 

.     .     .     By  the  Ocean 

Nolek    .     .     . 

Dancing  Butterflies 

Palmgren 

.     .     .     May-night 

Saint-Saens    . 

.     The  Swan 

Davis    . 

.     .     .     Pastorale 

Seeboeck    .     . 

The  Hunt 

Chaffin . 

.     .     .     In  Springtime 

Shackley    .     . 

Song  of  the  Brook 

Boisdeflfre 

.     .     .     By  the  Brook 

Whelpley  .     . 

Song  of  the  Fountain 

Coerne  . 

.     .     .     Twittering  Birds 

Whelpley  .     . 

At  Evening 

Backer-Grondahl     Summer  Song 

Helm     .     .     . 

Sylvan  Sketches 

Bohm    . 

.     .     .     Murmuring  Brook 

LOVE   THEMES 

Bernheimer    . 

Romance 

Whelpley 

.     .     .     Album-leaf 

Cadman     .     . 

Melody 

Sturgis  . 

.     .     .     Meditation 

Martel  .     .     . 

Angelica 

Hurst    . 

.     .     .     Melodic  d'Amour 

Elgar     .     .     . 

Salut  d'Amour 

Grieg     . 

.     .     I  Love  Thee 

Gael      .     .     . 

Voice  of  the  Heart 

Liszt 

.     .     Love  Dreams 

Nevin    . 

Love  Song 

Mitchell    . 

.     .     There  was  a  Star 

Svendsen  .     .     . 

Romance 

Bohm  . 

.     .     Cavatina 

Quinn    .     .     . 

Souvenir  de  Venise 

Friml    .     . 

.     .     Melodie 

LIGHT,   GRACEFUL  MC 

>ODS 

Adam    .     .     . 

Liselotte 

Nesvera 

.     .     .     Butterflies 

Berger  .     .     . 

Capriccietto 

Chaminad( 

5     .     .     Libellules 

Seeboeck    .     . 

Le  Dauphin 

DeUbes 

.     .     .     Pizzicati,  "Sylvia" 

Fomin  .     .     . 

Lydia 

Gillet     . 

.     .     .     Babillage 

Hellmesberger 

Entr'acte  Valse 

Grieg     . 

.     .     .     Anitra's  Dance 

Huerter      .     . 

Caprice 

Gabriel-M 

arie    .     La  Cinquantaine 

Sanford      .     . 

Bluette 

Moszkows 

d  .     .     Canzonetta 

ELEGIAC  MOODS 

Bernheimer    . 

.     Elegy 

Huerter 

.     .     .     Yesterdays 

Debussy     .     . 

.     Reverie 

Huerter 

.     .     .    Told  at  Twilight 

Mouton     .     . 

.     Enchanted  Hour 

Friml     . 

.     .     .     Adieu 

Nevin    .     .     . 

.     Romance 

Wagner 

.     .     .     Dreams 

Palmgren  .     . 

.     The  Swan 

St.  Quenti 

a    .     .     Love's  Meditation 

Seeboeck    .     . 

.     Angelus 

Rflff .     . 

.     .     .    Cavatina 

Szalit     .     .     . 

.     Intermezzo 

Wolstenho 

Im .     .     The  Answer 

Wagner- liszt . 

.     To  the  Evening  Star 

Rubinstein 

i-Liszt      The  Asra 

28     MUSICAL  ACCOMPANIMENT  OF  MOVING   PICTURES 


Cui  .     . 
Whelpley 
Hopekirk 
Enesco  . 
Halvorsen 


Nevin    .     . 
Wagner 

Wagner 

Meyerbeer 


IMPRESSIVE    MOODS 

Prelude  in  Ab 

Wagner 

PVelude 

Sarabande 

Wagner 

Adagio 

Triumphal  Entry  of 

Meyerbeer 

the  Boyars 

Handel .     . 

FESTIVE 

MOODS 

Tournament 

Verdi     .     . 

March  from  "Tann- 

Berlioz  .     . 

hauser" 

Gounod 

IntroductiontoThird 

Gounod 

Act,  "Lohengrin" 

de  Koven  . 

Processional  March, 

Chopin 

"The  Prophet" 

Ketterer    . 

King's  Prayer,  from 
"Lohengrin" 

"Parsifal"  Selec- 
tions 

Torch  Dance 

Largo 


March  from  "Aida" 
Hungarian  March 
Marche  fanfare 
Marche  pontificate 
Wedding  March 
Polonaise  militaire 
Caprice  militaire 


EXOTIC   MOODS 


Oswald .     .     . 

Serenade  Grise 

Puccini       .     . 

Madama  Butterfly 

Adam    .     .     . 

The  Bim-Bims 

Tschaikowsky 

Danse  Arabe  ("  Nut- 

Albeniz     .     . 

Tango  (Spanish) 

cracker"  Suite) 

Albeniz      .     . 

Nochecita 

Tsehaikowsky 

Marche  Slave 

Manzanares   . 

Oriental 

Farwell      .     . 

American         Indian 

Luzatti       .     . 

Venetian  Serenade 

Melodies 

Boreh    .     .     . 

From  Russia 

Gottschalk 

Bamboula 

Grunn  .     .     . 

Zuiii  Impressions 

Loomis  .     .     . 

Ljrrics   of   the   Red- 

Peterkin    .     . 

Dreamer's  Tales 

man 

Saint-Saens    . 

Ballet    from   "Sam- 

Luigini .     .     . 

Ballet  Egyptien 

son  and  Delilah" 

Rimsky-Korsako 

f   Chant  Hindou 

(See  also  page  42) 


COMEDY 

d'Ambrosio 

.     En  badinant  (Chat- 

Huerter 

.     .     The  Juggler   Come- 

terbox) 

dian 

Clarke  .     . 

A  Day  in  Paris 

Adam    . 

.     .     Lancelot 

Michel  .     . 

Ninette 

Bohm    . 

.     .     Harlequin  Polka 

Monroe 

.     The  Gobbler 

Chad^vick 

.     .     The  Frogs 

Waehs  .     . 

.     Nadia 

Lack 

.     .     Pizzicato,  Bluette 

Huerter 

.     With  Xylophom 

5  and 

Dumas  . 

.     .     On  the  Hike 

BeUs 

VoUenhove 

n   .     .     The  Rabbit 

(See  also  page  37) 


REPERTOIRE 


29 


SPEED  (Hurries) 


Argus  . 
Barnby 
Wachs  . 
Musil  . 
Chopin . 
Bach 
Wagner 


Butterfly  Chase 
Will  o'  the  Wisp 
A  travers  I'espace 
Frolic 
"Minute"  Waltz 


Alkan    .     .     . 
Bohm    .     .     . 
GiUet     .     .     . 
Schubert-Heller 
Delibes .     .     . 


Little  Fugue,  Gm.         Bossi 
Ride  of  the  Valkyries     Noble    . 


The  Wind 
Glissando  Mazurka 
The  Humming  Top 
Erlking 
Passepied 
Scherzo,  Gm. 


.    Morris  Dance 


NEUTRAL  MUSIC 


Chaminade 

.     .     Air  de  Ballet 

Godard 

.     .     Berceuse     from 

Densmore  . 

.     Gardenia 

' '  Jocely  n ' ' 

Martel  .     . 

.     .     Five  Silhouettes 

Godard 

.     .     Mazurkas  (1-4) 

Grieg     .     . 

.     Lyric  Pieces 

Heller    .     . 

.     .     11  penseroso 

Mendelssohn 

.     Songs  without  Words 

MacDowell 

.     .     Idyls 

Liszt 

.     Consolations 

Moszkowski 

.     .     Serenata 

Henselt 

.     Spring  Song 

Schubert    . 

.     Moments  musicaux 

Henselt 

.     Were  I  a  Bird 

Wilm     .     . 

.     Short  Pieces,  Op.  12 

Friml     .     . 

.     Chant  sans  Paroles 

Tarenghi   .     . 

Serenata 

GiUet     .     . 

.     Sweet  Caress 

Karganoff .     . 

.    Menuetto  all'antico 

WALTZES 

Baynes .     . 

.     Destiny 

Duval    .     . 

.     Viennoise 

Danglas     . 

.     On    the    Wings    of 

Martel  .     . 

.     Fleur-de-lis 

Dream 

Delibes .     . 

.     Naila 

STANDARD  OVERTURES 

N.  B.  —  Most  of  these  overtures  contain  brilliant  and  lively  passages  which  will 
fit  scenes  in  the  wild  West,  hurries,  chases,  fights,  and  mob  scenes,  etc. ;  many  of 
them  also  contain  slow  movements  which  wiU  prove  useful  as  love  themes,  etc. 


Rossini .     . 

.     .     WiUiam  Tell 

Herold  . 

Zampa 

Rossini .     . 

.     .     The  Italians   in  Al- 

Kela-Bela 

.     .     Hungarian    Comedy 

geria       (especially 

Strauss  . 

.     .     The  Bat 

for  detective  sto- 

Mendelssohn .     .     Midsummer  Night's 

ries) 

Dream 

Nicolai .     . 

.     .     Merry      Wives      of 

HoUins  . 

.     .     Concert  Overture,  in 

Windsor        (espe- 

C minor 

cially     for     fairy 

Weber  . 

.     Oberon 

stories,  etc.) 

Weber  . 

.     .     Freischiitz 

Suppe    .     . 

.     Light  Cavalry 

Weber  . 

.     Euryanthe 

Suppe    .     . 

.     Jolly  Robbers 

Mozart . 

.     .     Magic  Flute 

Suppe    . 

.     .     Poet  and  Peasant 

Mozart . 

.     .     Figaro's  Wedding 

Boieldieu  . 

.     Caliph  of  Bagdad 

Beethoven 

Egmont 

Thomas 

.     Raymond 

Beethoven 

.     .     Coriolanus 

30     MUSICAL  ACCOMPANIMENT  OF   MOVING   PICTURES 


SPECIAL  CHARACTERS  AND   SITUATIONS 


Tragedy 

a.  Impending : 

b.  Aftermath : 
Death 


Tschaikowsky  1st  movement  from  Symphonie  Pathetique 

Beethoven      .  1st  movement  from  Sonata  Pathetique 

Rachmaninof  I*relude,  CS  minor 

Beethoven      .  2d  movement  from  Sonata  Pathetique 

Massenet  .     .  Elegie 

Tschaikowsky  3d  movement  from  Symphonie  Pathetique 

Chopin       .     .  Funeral  March 

Beethoven      .  Funeral  March 

Mendelssohn  .  Funeral  March 


(N.  B.  —  In  the  presence  of  actual  death,  observe  silence!) 


Battle  Scenes 
Storm  Scenes 


Tschaikowsky  Overture  "  1812" 

Tschaikowsky  Last  movement  from  Symphony  No.  6 

Rossini .     .     .  William  Tell 

Rachmaninof  Middle  section  from  Prelude,  Ctf  minor 

Beethoven      .  1st  movement  from  "Moonlight  Sonata" 


Villanotis  Characters 

a.  Robbers  (In  Drama) 
Robbers  (In  Comedy) 

b.  Sinister  villain 

c.  Roue  or  vampire 


d.  Revengeful  \'illain 


Bizet      .     .     Smugglers' Chorus  from  "  Carmen " 
Grieg      .     .     In  the  Hall  of  the  Mountain  King 
Gounod.     .     Music  of  Mephistopheles  in  " Faust " 
Puccini  .     .     Music  of  Scarpia  in  "Tosca" 
Leoncavallo     Introduction    and    finale    from   "Pa- 
ghacci" 


Youthful  Characters 


Old  Age 


Mendelssohn .  Spring  Song 

Grieg  .  Spring  Song 

Grieg  .  Butterflies 

Nevin  .     .  .  Mighty  Lak  a  Rose 

Orth     .     .  .  What  the  Old  Oak  Said 

Danks  .     .  .  Silver  Threads  Among  the  Gold 

Hopekirk  .  .  Sundown 


PART  II 
MUSICAL  INTERPRETATION 

1.   The  Feature  Film 

Perhaps  the  best  way  of  indicating  a  safe  procedure  in  the  musical 
interpretation  of  a  feature  fihn,  is  to  single  out  one  photo-play,  and  to 
suggest  a  musical  garb  that  will  fittingly  clothe  it  with  strains  such  as 
will  bring  out  in  bolder  relief  the  plastic  curves  of  the  story.  All  of  the 
motion  picture  concerns  issue  for  each  of  the  pictures  which  they  release  a 
synopsis  that  enumerates  the  various  characters  of  the  cast  and  gives  an 
outUne  of  the  story.  This  synopsis  should  be  carefully  studied  and  should 
enable  the  player  to  select  music  descriptive  of  the  various  situations  and 
emotions  portrayed. 

Let  us  take  as  an  illustration  "The  Rose  of  the  World"  with  Elsie 
Ferguson.^  The  opening  scenes  are  laid  in  India,  at  a  British  Army  Station. 
This  will  immediately  suggest  the  necessity  of  preparing  certain  strains 
of  music  characteristic  of  the  Orient ;  also  of  martial  music  in  scenes 
depicting  the  soldier  life.  The  story  is  as  follows.  Captain  S.  is  married 
to  a  16-year  old  girl  named  Rose,  who  is  very  beautiful,  but  as  yet  has  not 
awakened  to  a  realization  of  life  and  love.  (1.  Main  love  theme,  intensely 
emotional.)  The  Captain  is  about  to  depart  with  his  troops  on  a  military 
expedition  against  rebellious  natives.  The  film  shows  his  leave-taking 
from  the  young  wife ;  he  tells  her  that  if  he  returns  alive  he  will  teach  her 
what  love  really  means.  The  troops  are  seen  departing  in  the  distance, 
with  the  Captain  in  command,  to  the  sound  of  Scottish  bagpipes.  (2. 
Hindu  motive  interwoven  with  military  march  and  imitation  of  bagpipes.) 
The  troops  disappear,  and  Rose  suddenly  realizes  her  loss ;  she  wildly 
longs  for  her  husband.  (3.  Main  love  theme  repeated,  with  softer  regis- 
tration and  rhythmically  more  agitated  accompaniment.)  In  the  next 
scene,  the  return  of  the  troops  is  shown.  (4.  Same  musical  treatment  as 
No.  2,  going  from  faint  to  loud,  and  leading  directly  into  5.  Introduction 
of  Overture  to  the  opera  "William  Tell.")  Rose  looks  in  vain  for  her 
husband ;  the  officers  tactfully  inform  her  that  she  is  left  a  widow  and  hand 

*  By  kind  permission  of  The  Famous  Players-Lasky  Corporation. 
31 


32     MUSICAL  ACCOMPANIMENT  OF   MOVING   PICTURES 

her  a  box  of  letters,  the  only  thing  that  they  are  bringing  back  to  remind 
her  of  her  husband.  (6.  Main  love  theme  in  the  minor  mode,  suggestive  of 
grief  and  despair.)  The  next  picture  picks  up  events  several  years  later, 
when  Rose,  belie\'ing  herself  a  widow,  has  married  the  Viceroy  of  India, 
and  a  grand  ball  is  held  to  celebrate  the  occasion.  (7.  Brilliant  waltz 
music.)  Lieut.  R.,  a  comrade  of  the  late  Captain  S.,  appears  and  asks  for 
permission  to  write  the  biography  of  his  dead  friend.  (8.  "Somewhere  a 
voice  is  calling.")  His  request  is  granted.  Rose's  niece,  a  young  school 
girl  of  "sentimental"  age,  falls  in  love  with  Lieut.  R.,  and  consequently  is 
jealous  of  Rose,  whose  collaboration  in  the  biography  of  her  husband 
brings  her  much  in  contact  with  Lieut.  R.  The  mischievous  niece  places 
a  picture  of  the  late  Captain  S.  on  the  piano  and  begins  to  play  and  sing, 
(9.  Imitate  school  girl  trying  to  play  Grieg's  "I  love  you.")  The  niece's 
kitten  helps  in  the  performance  by  prowling  leisurely  over  the  keyboard. 
(10.  Imitate  kitten  skipping  up  and  down  the  keys.)  Rose,  exasperated, 
snatches  the  Captain's  photo  from  the  piano  and  rushes  from  the  room. 
(IL  Agitated  strain  based  on  the  main  love  motive.)  The  biography  has 
reached  its  closing  chapter  and  Lieut.  R.  demands  to  see  the  box  containing 
the  late  Captain's  letters  in  order  to  make  the  story  of  the  last  moments 
complete.  Rose  feels  that  these  letters  are  too  sacred  for  the  eyes  of  the 
outside  world.  (12.  Massenet's  " Elegie,"  leading  into  an  agitated  strain). 
Her  husband,  the  Viceroy,  without  regard  for  the  delicate  feelings  of  Rose, 
demands  that  she  surrender  the  letters  in  order  to  help  Lieut.  R.  in  his 
task.  Rose  reahzes  how  repulsive  her  present  husband  is  to  her  and  how 
much  she  still  loves  her  lost  hero.  (13.  Suggest  the  inner  struggle  of  Rose 
by  treating  main  love  motive  in  minor  mode  and  breaking  it  up  in  short  phrases 
which  successively  rise  in  pitch,  and  finally  lead  into  a  calmer  transition.) 
The  Viceroy  has  left  Rose's  boudoir ;  she  gets  out  the  box  of  letters  and 
tries  to  read  some  of  them ;  her  emotion  overcomes  her  and  she  faints. 
(14.  Kevin's  "The  Rosary" ;  endeavor  to  make  the  climax  of  the  song  syn- 
chronize with  the  moment  at  which  Rose  faints.)  Her  health  gradually  fails 
and  they  decide  to  send  her  to  England  to  recuperate.  (15.  Suggestion 
of  the  Hindu  theme  leading  into  "Home,  Sweet  Home. ")  Then  follow  scenes 
on  the  ocean  liner  and  of  the  sea- voyage.  (16.  "Sailor,  beware.")  Rose 
returns  to  England,  to  the  home  of  her  first  husband.  (17.  "/  hear  you 
calling  me.")  There  she  feels  nearer  to  him  in  spirit,  and  spends  much 
time  in  reading  over  his  letters.  (18.  Main  love  theme,  with  vibrato  effects 
in  the  treble,  and  echo  registration  on  the  organ.)  She  reads  of  the  siege, 
the  battle  scenes,  and  his  approaching  death  by  thirst  and  starvation. 
(19.  Suggestion  of  Hindu  music,  agitated  strains  depicting  the  battle,  leading 
into  a  tremendous  climax.)  Suddenly  the  Viceroy  and  his  Hindu  secretary 
appear  in  the  room.  Her  husband  chides  her,  and  becomes  more  loath- 
some in  her  eyes,  the  quarrel  ending  in  a  violent  scene  at  the  dinner  table. 


THE  FEATURE  FILM  33 

(20.  Snatches  of  the  waltz,  played  for  her  wedding  ball,  suggested  in  a  distorted 
and  agitated  manner,  leading  to  a  brutal  outburst  which  accompanies  the  final 
confession  of  Rose,  at  the  dinner  table,  that  she  loathes  the  Viceroy  and  belongs 
only  to  her  first  love.)  Rose  rushes  from  the  table  and  seeks  to  seclude 
herself  in  her  own  rooms.  (21.  Suggest  '^Somewhere  a  voice  is  calling.") 
In  the  night  a  terrible  storm  comes  up.  (22.  Storm  music  from  Overture 
to  "William  Tell.")  Rose,  in  a  frenzy,  begs  her  Hindu  maid  to  try  an 
incantation  that  will  bring  back  the  spirit  of  Capt.  S.  (23.  Over  a  low 
rumbling  in  the  bass,  suggestive  of  the  continued  storm,  the  weird  chant  of  the 
Hindu  woman  rises  in  the  treble;  this  leads  in  a  big  crescendo  to  the  climax.) 
At  the  height  of  the  storm  and  incantation,  Capt.  S.  bursts  into  the  room ; 
he  had  escaped  from  the  native  prison,  where  he  had  been  held  a  captive 
for  three  years,  had  managed  to  disguise  himself  as  a  Hindu  and  to  find 
employment  as  the  Viceroy's  secretary.  He  had  been  watching  to  see  if 
his  wife  still  loved  him.  (24.  Main  love  theme.)  At  the  sight  of  the  man 
whom  she  believed  dead,  Rose  loses  consciousness.  Awakening  the  next 
morning,  she  finds  her  lover  at  her  side  ;  they  are  reunited,  to  five  happily 
ever  after.     (25.   Apotheosis  of  main  love  theme.) 

Even  this  short  exposition,  briefly  outlining  the  story,  will  show  the 
variety  of  music  required,  and  the  manifold  treatment  which  it  needs,  to 
depict  grapliically  the  emotions  that  animate  each  scene.  Perhaps  one  of 
the  most  difficult  things  for  the  beginner  to  learn,  is  the  joining  together  of 
musical  motives  and  strains,  as  enumerated  in  the  above  example.  It  is 
here  that  musical  taste  and  the  ability  to  improvise  will  prove  most 
valuable.  Most  of  the  emotions  that  come  into  play  in  the  story  just  told 
are  covered  by  the  thematic  variations  demonstrated  in  an  earlier  chapter 
with  the  aid  of  our  theme  A.  Thus,  for  instance,  the  music  for  number  6 
would  be  treated  similarly  to  our  Ex.  B.  The  music  for  No.  11  might  be 
treated  after  the  fashion  of  Ex.  C.  No.  13  might  be  dealt  with  according 
to  Ex.  E.  For  No.  18,  Ex.  F  might  serve  as  a  model,  by  either  using 
broken  chords  in  the  treble  (as  is  the  case  in  the  example)  or  supplying  the 
harmony  by  a  vibrato  in  the  treble.  Ex.  I  might  suggest  the  proper  treat- 
ment for  the  return  of  the  love  theme  at  No.  24.  For  the  apotheosis,  or 
finale,  at  No.  25,  Ex.  A  should  be  played  with  full  organ,  with  rich  and 
effective  registration. 

What  has  been  said,  under  the  general  recommendations,  regarding  the 
necessity  of  varying  constantly  the  time  and  key  of  the  accompanying 
music,  in  order  to  avoid  monotony,  should  naturally  be  borne  in  mind 
throughout  the  musical  illustration  of  the  feature  film.  The  transition 
from  one  strain  to  another  should  be  made  with  the  aid  of  effective 
modulation,  according  to  the  principles  laid  down  in  an  earlier  para- 
graph.    Variety  of  registration  must  add  color  to  the  music.     The  player 


34     MUSICAL  ACCOMPANIMENT  OF  MOVING   PICTURES 

should  follow  the  story  closely,  and  keep  his  eyes  on  the  film  as  much  as 
possible. 

Experience  will  teach  the  player  that  for  a  great  many  occasions  he  will 
require  what,  for  want  of  a  better  term,  might  be  called  "neutral"  music. 
Thereby  is  meant  music  of  no  particular  character,  which  forms  a  suitable 
accompaniment  for  scenes  that  do  not  call  for  special  musical  illustration. 
The  type  of  music  that  will  best  serve  this  purpose  is  pleasant  salon  music, 
or  some  of  the  shorter  preludes  by  Chopin,  or  some  of  the  little  piano  pieces 
by  Grieg.  "Neutral"  music  should  never  last  too  long,  as  it  is  only  a 
makeshift  and  a  stop-gap. 

2.    "Flash-backs" 

A  peculiar  feature  of  many  fibns  is  the  introduction  of  flash-backs. 
Thereby  is  meant  the  momentary  interruption  of  the  pictured  story  to  give 
in  a  pictorial  "flash"  the  thought  of  one  of  the  actors,  or  to  illustrate  his 
words,  or  again  to  remind  the  audience  of  a  secondary  action  which  is 
supposed  to  go  on  at  the  same  time  in  a  different  place. 

Thus,  for  instance,  a  man,  driven  to  despair,  may  be  contemplating  sui- 
cide. His  emotional  tension  is  illustrated  in  the  music  by  gloomy  or 
tragic  accents.  The  man  is  about  to  shoot  himself,  when  in  his  mind  he 
suddenly  sees  the  home  of  his  childhood  with  his  young  orphan  sister 
left  to  the  mercies  of  this  world,  if  he  should  destroy  himself.  The  screen 
shows  the  old  homestead,  the  sister  in  her  sunbonnet  picking  flowers  in 
the  quaint  and  pretty  garden.  Nothing  could  be  farther  removed  from 
the  horror  of  the  actual  situation,  than  this  picture  of  calm,  of  innocence 
and  happiness.  It  fades  as  abruptly  as  it  sprang  up.  But  the  thought 
of  the  consequences  of  his  action  have  suddenly  brought  the  man  to 
realize  the  cowardice  of  his  plan;  he  is  determined  to  "stick  it  out"  hke 
a  man.  Now,  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  interrupt  the  musical  tension  of  the 
scene  by  introducing  a  few  bars  of  "Garden  music"  while  the  girl  is  shown 
with  her  flowers;  it  would  cut  short  the  dramatic  progress  and  foil  the 
building  up  of  a  climax  which  comes  when  the  man  resolves  to  live,  and 
throws  away  his  gun.  Therefore  the  music  should  not  change  its  character 
during  the  flash-back,  but  it  should  be  very  much  subdued  and  be  instantly 
softened  to  a  mere  whisper  while  the  flash-back  is  shown,  to  burst  out 
inmiediately  into  normal  loudness  when  the  flash-back  vanishes. 

Another  situation  in  which  a  flash-back  may  be  employed  is  the  follow- 
ing. An  actor  may  read,  or  relate  to  some  one  else,  the  account  of  some- 
thing that  has  happened  to  himself  or  another  person.  To  make  this  plain 
to  the  audience,  the  incident  itself  is  often  shown  in  the  form  of  a  flash- 
back.   An  escaped  prisoner  of  war,  standing  before  his  own  superiors, 


ANIMATED   CARTOONS   AND   SLAP-STICK  COMEDY      35 

may  tell  how  he  killed  the  enemy  guard  in  order  to  make  his  escape,  and  the 
actual  kilUng  of  the  guard  may  be  recalled  to  the  audience  by  showing  a 
short  phase  of  the  struggle  during  the  telling  of  the  story.  The  music  which 
accompanies  the  actual  scene  need  not  be  changed  for  the  moment  during 
which  the  flash-back  lasts  ;  but  in  order  to  emphasize  the  dramatic  tension 
of  the  incident,  the  speed  and  dynamic  intensity  of  the  music  played  should 
be  heightened  during  the  flash-back.  In  other  words,  a  piece  of  moderate 
tempo  and  moderate  loudness  played  for  the  scene  in  which  the  man  appears 
before  the  officers,  should  be  played  with  greater  loudness  and  greater  speed 
while  the  flash-back  lasts,  to  return  instantly  to  "normal,"  when  the  flash- 
back vanishes. 

An  instance  where  perhaps  an  actual  change  of  music  might  accompany 
a  flash-back,  would  be  the  following.  The  villain  is  about  to  batter  in  the 
door  of  the  room  in  which  the  heroine  is  hiding.  His  brutal  efforts  and  the 
girl's  frenzy  are  musically  depicted  by  strains  of  highest  emotional  and 
dramatic  tension.  Meanwhile  the  hero  is  furiously  riding  from  a  distance, 
on  horseback  or  by  automobile,  in  order  to  effect  the  rescue.  During  the 
progress  of  the  main  scene,  flash-backs  are  shown  of  the  hero's  wild  ride. 
In  such  an  instance  it  may  be  admissible  to  accompany  these  flash-backs  by 
fast  runs  on  the  key-board,  with  a  soft  organ  registration,  increasing  in 
loudness  each  time  that  the  rider  is  shown  approaching  nearer  to  his  goal. 
When  the  hero  bursts  upon  the  scene,  overwhelms  the  villain  and  rescues 
the  girl,  the  climax  is  reached  with  a  flourish  of  notes  leading  into  an  exalted 
rendition  of  the  main  love  theme. 

As  will  be  seen  by  the  above,  the  handling  of  flash-backs  requires  a 
technique  of  its  own ;  practice  will  develop  it  quickly  if  the  underlying 
principles  are  correctly  understood.  These  principles  are :  in  most  cases 
not  to  disrupt  the  continuity  of  the  music  while  the  flash-back  lasts,  but  to 
change  the  intensity  by  playing  the  music,  characteristic  of  the  main  action, 
in  a  dynamic  degree  of  loudness  or  softness  which  befits  the  secondary 
action.  In  a  few  cases  the  speed  of  the  music  may  be  changed  to  advantage, 
and  in  rare  instances  only  the  flash-back  will  demand  a  musical  treatment 
radically  differing  from  that  which  accompanies  the  main  action.  It 
may  be  added  here  that  indiscriminately  used  flash-backs  are  becoming 
more  and  more  rare  in  well-produced  pictures,  but  they  are  still  plentiful 
in  the  cheaper  films.  Flash-backs  occur  mostly  in  feature-films,  the  treat- 
ment of  which  has  been  described  in  the  preceding  chapter. 

3.  Animated  Cartoons  and  Slap-Stick  Comedy 

Many  a  player,  who  is  otherwise  admirably  fitted  to  give  a  musical 
interpretation  of  moving  pictures,  falls  down  on  the  animated  cartoons 
and  burlesque  films.     This  is  due  to  an  absence  of  the  all-important 


36     MUSICAL  ACCOMPANIMENT  OF  MOVING   PICTURES 

sense  of  humor,  or  "comedy  touch",  which  is  needed  in  every-day  Ufe 
as  much  as  in  this  particular  branch  of  the  movie  entertainment.  Sense 
of  humor  is  a  gift  of  the  gods,  but  they  will  not  withhold  it  from  any  one 
who  seriously  tries  to  acquire  it.  The  player  should  learn  to  recognize, 
and  be  able  personally  to  enjoy,  the  fun  of  the  comic  situations  depicted 
on  the  screen.  Nothing  is  more  calamitous  than  to  see  "Mutt  and  Jeff" 
disport  themselves  in  their  inimitable  antics  and  to  have  a  "Brother 
Gloom"  at  the  organ  who  gives  vent  to  his  perennial  grouch  in  sadly  senti- 
mental or  funereal  strains.  A  cheerful  aspect  of  things,  the  faculty  to 
laugh  with  and  at  the  world,  are  indispensable.  In  no  part  of  the  pictures 
should  the  attention  of  the  player  be  riveted  more  firmly  on  the  screen 
than  here.  If  the  "point"  of  the  joke  be  missed,  if  the  player  lag  behind 
with  his  effect,  all  will  be  lost,  and  the  audience  cheated  out  of  its  rightful 
share  of  joy.  Nor  does  it  suffice,  as  seems  to  be  the  idea  of  certain  picture- 
players,  to  be  armed  with  one  Uvely  tune  that  must  serve  all  cartoons, 
comedies  and  jokes,  invariably  and  indiscriminately.  In  the  cartoons  and 
in  the  comedies  all  sorts  of  other  emotions,  besides  that  of  plain  hilarity, 
may  come  into  play ;  there  may  be  sorrow,  doubt,  horror  and  even  death ; 
only  all  these  emotions  lack  the  quaUty  of  truth,  and  they  must  be  ex- 
pressed as  "mock"  sorrow  and  grief,  "mock"  doubt  and  death.  This  is 
very  different  from  reaUty  and  should  therefore  be  treated  differently  in 
the  music.  Take  as  a  glaring  example  the  funeral  march  of  Chopin,  with 
its  subUme  note  of  tragedy  and  bereavement,  and  the  exquisite  "Funeral 
March  for  a  Marionette"  by  Gounod,  with  its  suggestion  of  fine  per- 
siflage. This  method,  apphed  to  the  most  serious  situation,  can  naturally 
be  adapted  to  any  other  emotion  that  the  player  may  encounter  in  a  legiti- 
mate picture  drama  and  that  he  will  have  to  "caricature"  for  the  picture 
farce. 

Nowhere  does  success,  the  "getting  across"  of  a  picture,  depend  so  much 
on  special  effects  as  it  does  here.  It  may  be  stated  candidly  that  these 
effects,  and  the  best  among  them,  are  not  always  purely  musical.  As  will 
be  pointed  out  in  the  chapter  on  "Special  Effects,"  a  battery  of  traps  and 
other  accessories  are  really  needed  to  emphasize  in  a  comic  manner  the 
action  on  the  screen.  It  is  often  noise,  more  than  music,  that  is  wanted, 
to  arouse  the  hilarity  of  the  audience;  and  the  noise  again  may  be  of 
various  kinds.  It  should  always  be  broadly  imitative  when  accompanying 
a  fall,  a  hit,  a  slide,  a  whirl  or  flight  through  the  air,  a  brawl,  the  whistle 
of  an  engine,  the  chirping  of  a  bird,  the  mewing  of  a  cat,  or  the  barking  of 
a  dog.  In  the  last  analysis  it  takes  very  little  to  make  a  crowd  laugh  ;  only 
the  fuse  to  its  magazine  of  laughter  must  be  ignited  with  a  live  spark. 
Experience,  here  as  in  everything  else,  will  prove  the  best  teacher,  and  the 
player  will  soon  find  out  what  effects  work  best  and  produce  the  surest 
results. 


THE  COMEDY  DRAMA  37 

This  part  of  the  show  is  admirably  adapted  to  the  introduction  of  all 
sorts  of  popular  songs  and  dances.  The  player  should  keep  in  touch  with 
the  pubUcations  of  popular  music  houses,  since  it  will  repay  him  to  estab- 
lish a  reputation  which  will  make  the  public  say:  "Let's  go  to  the  Star 
Theatre  —  you  always  hear  the  latest  tune  there."  This  will  prove  a  never- 
failing  drawing  card  for  the  younger  generation  of  movie-fans,  and  it  will 
react  most  decidedly  to  the  advantage  of  the  organist  in  his  relation  to  the 
box-office  and  his  own  earning  power. 

It  is  well  also  to  keep  in  touch  with  the  monthly  announcements  of  the 
latest  phonograph  records  issued.  As  a  rule,  these  numbers  have  proved 
assured  successes,  and  people  like  to  hear  their  favorite  tunes,  either 
those  they  already  have  at  home,  or  new  ones  which  they  might  want  to  add 
to  their  collection.  The  player's  repertoire  should  always  be  kept  ahve 
by  the  infusion  of  new  and  up-to-date  material. 

One  important  factor  in  these  pictorial  farces  is  the  matter  of  speed. 
"Pep"  is  the  key-note  to  the  situation,  with  the  current  "jazz"  tunes  as 
a  medium.  When  special  effects  are  to  be  introduced,  or  certain  moods  and 
emotions  are  to  be  "itahcized"  and  burlesqued,  this  may  be  done  at  any 
point  of  the  composition  played,  the  piece  instantly  to  be  resumed.  Above 
all,  keep  things  "going,"  hke  a  juggler  who  may  be  handling  two  or  twenty 
balls,  and  occasionally  drops  one,  but  must  never  cease  in  throwing  and 
catching  something.^ 

4.   The  Comedy  Drama 

Much  that  has  been  said  in  the  previous  chapter  also  appUes  to  this 
type  of  film.  However,  all  effects,  in  general,  will  have  to  be  toned  down 
and  the  methods  employed  will  approach  more  nearly  those  of  the  "feature 
fihn."  Sense  of  humor  should  again  be  the  chief  asset  of  the  player.  But 
it  should  be  rather  a  sense  of  wit  than  a  fondness  for  horse-play.  Fine 
musical  taste,  a  Hght  touch,  apt  musical  illustrations,  will  greatly  add  to 
the  charm  of  the  picture. 

The  player  will  here,  as  in  the  feature  fihn,  characterize  the  chief 
actors  by  suitable  motives ;  there  will  be  a  main  theme  and  the  obhgatory 


iSuch  pieces  as  "The  Bim-Bims"  by  Adam,  "Lydia"  by  Fomin,  "Donkey  Trot"  by 
Leducq,  "La  Gloria"  by  Densmore,  "With  Xylophone  and  BeUs"  and  "The  Juggler  Come- 
dian" by  Huerter,  "On  the  Hike"  by  Dumas,  "Polka  Humoristique"  by  Lacomb,  and 
"Chatterbox"  by  d'Ambrosio  will  prove  useful  material.  The  player  should  have  at  his 
command  the  choruses  of  such  well-known  topical  songs  as  "I  cannot  make  my  eyes  behave," 
"Every  little  movement  has  a  meaning  all  its  ov/n,"  "Where  did  you  get  that  hat?"  "Always 
go  while  the  going  is  good,"  "Waiting  at  the  Church,"  "What's  the  matter  with  Father?" 
"  My  mind's  made  up  to  marry  Carolina,"  etc.,  etc.  The  association  of  such  tunes  with  their 
particular  text  phrase  will  always  insure  a  quick  response  in  the  audience,  if  the  tunes  are 
applied  to  the  proper  situation. 


38     MUSICAL  ACCOMPANIMENT  OF  MOVING   PICTURES 

number  of  supplementary  selections.  As  there  is  usually  a  love  story 
interwoven,  there  will  be  need  of  some  sentimental  strain  besides  pieces 
of  a  lighter  nature.  For  flights,  escapes  and  chases,  the  player  should 
hold  in  readiness  various  kinds  of  musical  "hurries."  ^  A  notable  feature 
of  the  comedy  drama  is  the  "comic  mystery,"  which  should  be  as  distinct 
from  the  heavy  mystery  of  the  tragic  drama  as  is  the  funeral  march  of 
Gounod  from  that  by  Chopin,  alluded  to  in  the  preceding  chapter.  To 
obtain  a  good  "mock  mystery,"  the  "comedy  touch"  and  dramatic 
instinct  must  work  hand  in  hand. 

The  player,  alas,  will  soon  discover  that  there  are  many  so-called 
comedy  dramas  shown  which  are  hopelessly  dull  and  barren  of  action  or 
interest.  In  such  cases,  the  only  thing  for  the  player  to  do,  is  to  give  a 
quasi-organ-recital  of  light  and  graceful  music  (no  fugues  or  sonatas!), 
and  to  atone  by  the  merit  of  his  playing  for  the  faults  of  the  film. 

In  a  city  where  musical  shows  are  produced  at  the  legitimate  theatres, 
the  player  will  do  well  to  use  selections  from  such  productions,  just  playing, 
in  the  accompaniment  to  the  Hghter  picture  dramas. 

5.   Weekly  News  Pictures 

The  topical  character  of  these  pictures  calls,  as  a  rule,  for  topical  music. 
The  audience  that  fills  a  moving  picture  house  likes  to  hear  the  popular 
success  of  the  hour,  be  it  a  song  or  instrumental  number,  well  played 
and  effectively  rendered.  It  goes  without  saying,  that  due  regard  must 
always  be  exercised  in  instances  where  the  music  and  picture  might  clash. 
It  will  never  do  to  launch  forth  on  a  popular  dance  tune  which  might  fit 
one  scene,  showing  some  public  happenings  with  which  this  music  might 
agree,  and  to  persist  in  playing  the  tune  while  the  picture  shifts  to  the 
scene  of  a  funeral  or  disaster.  But,  as  a  general  rule,  the  news  section  of  the 
picture  is  the  one  that  will  give  the  best  opportunity  to  play  the  lighter 
type  of  popular  numbers. 

Unless  the  picture  is  of  such  character  that  it  would  call  for  a  specially 
appropriate  musical  illustration,  the  tune  need  not  be  changed  for  e very- 
scene  that  is  shown.  But  there  are  certain  events,  of  which  we  shall  speak 
in  the  following  paragraphs,  that  should  receive  special  musical  treatment. 

MiUtary  or  civic  processions  will  require  martial  music.  Pictures  of 
weddings  might  be  emphasized  by  a  strain  from  Mendelssohn's  or  de 
Koven's  wedding  music.  A  funeral  procession  should  be  accompanied  by 
the  playing  of  Chopin's  or  Beethoven's  funeral  march.  This  will  also  be 
appropriate  for  the  showing  of  graves  or  a  cemetery. 

'  Grieg's  "In  the  Hall  of  the  Mountain  King"  ia  particularly  useful  as  a  comedy  agitato. 


WEEKLY  NEWS  PICTURES  39 

Church  functions  will  suggest  the  playing  of  a  chorale  or  some  well- 
known  sacred  music.  Patriotic  gatherings  or  the  showing  of  statesmen 
and  royal  personages  should  be  accompanied  by  patriotic  music  or  by  the 
national  anthem  of  the  particular  country  whose  statesman  or  ruler  is 
shown.  It  is  against  the  law  to  play  garbled  versions  of  "The  Star 
Spangled  Banner"  or  paraphrase  on  it.  If  played  at  all,  our  national 
anthem  should  be  given  in  its  entirety,  with  spirited  movement  and  yet 
in  a  dignified  manner.  However,  the  anthem  should  not  be  dragged  in 
without  rhyme  or  reason,  perhaps  simply  because  the  flag  is  displayed  in 
some  picture.  Since  the  audience  will  rise  whenever  the  anthem  is  played, 
it  should  be  introduced,  if  at  all,  not  more  than  once  at  each  performance, 
and  only  when  the  scene  demands  it. 

The  player  should  famiHarize  himself  with  the  most  important  and 
common  bugle  signals  of  the  Army.  There  are  many  occasions  where 
these  bugle  signals  will  add  a  dramatic  touch.  If  the  picture  shows  a 
mihtary  funeral  or  the  graves  of  soldiers,  the  signal  of  "taps"  should  be 
played  in  a  suitable  register,  first  unaccompanied,  to  imitate  the  bugle, 
and  then,  if  the  picture  offers  an  opportunity,  the  player  may  improvise 
on  the  bugle  call  as  a  motive. 

Frequently  pictures  of  aeroplanes  and  other  air-craft  are  thrown  on  the 
screen.  These  should  be  accompanied  by  light,  "soaring"  music  (such  as 
"Through  Space"  by  Paul  Wachs  or  "Butterfly  Chase"  by  Hugo  Argus). 
If  an  aeroplane  makes  a  rapid  and  spectacular  descent,  the  player  might 
lightly  glide  his  thumb  down  the  keys. 

Horse  races  or  automobile  races  call  for  rapid  music.  If  the  player's 
technique  is  not  sufficiently  developed  to  execute  a  generally  difficult 
composition  that  demands  a  great  deal  of  speed,  he  may  obtain  satisfactory 
results  by  a  rapid  tremolo  in  the  treble,  punctuated  by  crisp  chord  progres- 
sions, of  moderate  speed,  played  in  a  lower  register.  In  any  event,  the 
player  must  approximate  the  speed  of  the  picture,  and  communicate  to 
the  audience  the  excitement  and  tension  that  the  original  witnesses  of  the 
scene  must  have  felt.  Football  games  may  call  for  college  songs.  Other 
sportive  happenings,  such  as  baseball  or  tennis,  seldom  require  special 
music.  It  is  different  with  boat  races  or  sailing  regattas.  They  should 
not  only  be  accompanied  by  music  suggestive  of  the  speed,  but  also  of  the 
graceful  movement  of  the  sailing  boats,  or  of  the  swell  of  the  sea.  Waltzes 
are  very  appropriate  for  yachting  scenes. 

Fire  scenes  demand  music  of  dramatic  excitement,  interspersed  with 
glissandi  (slides)  on  the  keys,  from  bass  to  treble,  to  illustrate  the  leaping 
flames.  If  the  fire  increases  or  decreases  in  violence,  the  player  should 
suggest  this  in  his  music.     Should  the  flames  become  extinguished,  and 


40     MUSICAL  ACCOMPANIMENT  OF  MOVING   PICTURES 

the  scene  show  the  rack  and  ruin  of  the  place,  the  music  should  calm  down 
and  express  the  mournful  desolation  of  the  picture. 

For  launching  of  boats,  it  is  advisable  to  add  to  the  tension  of  the 
picture  by  accompanying  the  sliding  of  the  boat  along  the  ways  with  an 
appropriate  tremolo  in  the  treble,  immediately  breaking  into  a  joyous 
tune  of  a  "horn-pipe"  character,  when  the  boat  takes  the  water.  The 
player  will  find  it  useful  to  famiharize  himself  with  a  number  of  chanties  or 
sailor  songs,  as  they  will  fit  in  not  only  with  "news"  pictures,  but  in  a 
great  many  feature  films. 

In  the  showing  of  industrial  plants  where  hammering  and  the  clangor 
of  machines  dominate,  such  pieces  as  the  "Anvil  Chorus"  will  often  add 
to  the  enjoyment  of  the  audience.  Pictures  of  agricultural  scenes  might 
fittingly  be  accompanied  by  some  of  the  "rural"  songs  and  dances  that 
the  audience  is  famihar  with.  Scenes  in  the  South,  cotton  fields,  steamers 
on  the  Mississippi,  etc.,  etc.,  will  call  for  the  songs  of  Stephen  Foster, 
Virginia  reels,  Negro  spirituals,  etc. 

Events  in  foreign  lands,  if  these  lands  are  in  the  Orient,  will  take  on 
added  significance  in  the  minds  of  the  audience,  if  they  are  accompanied 
by  music  which  suggests  Oriental  strains  (such  as  "Orientale"  by  J.  R. 
Manzanares,  "Orientale"  by  C.  Cui,  "Koko-San"  by  I.  Kamoto ;  see  also 
"From  Russia"  by  G.  Borch,  "Nochecita"  by  I.  Albeniz,  "Spanish  Sere- 
nade" by  Strelezki,  "Italian  Serenade"  by  S.  Maykapar,  etc.,  etc.).' 

Under  the  heading  of  "news"  pictures,  are  often  run  films  that  portray 
the  latest  fashions.  Such  exhibitions  require  no  special  music.  They  call 
for  agreeable  and  fluent  salon  music,  or  waltzes  (see  "Iris"  by  R.  Friml, 
"Fleur-de-lis"  by  J.  Martel,  "In  the  StarUght"  by  C.  Huerter,  "Ecstasy" 
by  S.  Baynes,  etc.). 

6.   Educational  Films 

More  than  any  other  pictures,  educational  films  should  absorb  the  whole 
attention  of  the  spectators.  By  their  very  nature  and  purpose,  they  are 
intended  to  impart  information  or  instruction  of  a  general  or  special  order. 
The  music  that  accompanies  such  views  should  therefore  be  carefully 
calculated  not  to  distract  the  attention.  The  player  should  avoid  loud 
or  showy  pieces,  and  instead  play  music  that  will  be  conducive  to  the 
creation  of  a  calm  and  receptive  mood  in  the  listener. 


'  The  player  will  find  a  great  many  pieces  of  general  usefulness  and  special  applicability 
to  national  events  in  the  series  of  volumes,  published  in  the  Boston  Music  Company  Edition, 
and  containing  representative  pieces  of  various  national  schools.  So  far,  the  series  comprises 
the  following  countries :  America,  France,  Russia,  Scandinavia,  Italy,  Germany,  Bohemia 
(Slovak  countries),  Spain  and  Finland. 


TRAVEL  VIEWS  41 

The  organ  registration  for  such  pieces  should  be  soft,  nor  should  it  be 
too  changeful,  but  rather  adhere  to  one  and  the  same  registration  for 
some  length  of  time. 

There  may  be  certain  views,  however,  which  by  virtue  of  a  musical 
emphasis  will  tell  their  lesson  more  vividly.  In  the  showing  of  growth  and 
development  of  flowers  or  insects,  a  crescendo  that  follows  the  progress  of 
the  picture  might  not  be  out  of  place.  Certain  views  of  animal  Ufe  may 
suggest  to  the  player  particular  effects  that  will  be  in  keeping  with  the 
story  told  on  the  screen.  Scientific  demonstrations  rarely  call  for  special 
effects. 

The  case  is  different,  when  the  education  is  to  be  imparted  by  means  of 
travel  pictures.     These  require  a  few  words  of  special  advice. 

7.   Travel  Views 

In  dealing  with  travel  views  the  player  should  bear  in  mind,  first  of  all, 
that  he  must  provide  his  memory  or  his  stock  of  accessible  music  with  a 
number  of  pieces  that  are  directly  intended  by  their  composers  as  nature 
studies,  more  or  less  sharply  defining  certain  moods  on  land  and  sea,  or 
will  do  so  by  implication.  The  well-stocked  library  of  a  picture  player 
should  contain  various  categories  of  music,  catalogued  according  to  the 
apphcability  of  each  piece,  with  plenty  of  cross  references  so  that  at  a 
moment's  notice  the  player  may  lay  his  hand  on  the  desired  composition. 
For  travel  views  he  may  find  it  convenient  to  order  his  music  according  to 

1,  nature  in  general,  and  2,  special  countries,  with  a  possible  addition  of 
3,  particular  occupations  or  situations. 

Under  the  head  of  "Nature  in  General"  would  come  1,  landscapes  and 

2,  water  scenes.  The  first  of  these  may  appear  in  three  general  aspects ; 
namely,  1,  sunny,  2,  cloudy,  and  3,  stormy.  Music  will  be  found  that  will 
fit  more  intimately  the  views  of  placid  gardens  and  orchards,  harmonize 
with  undulating  fields,  shady  woods,  rugged  mountains,  or  majestic  glaciers. 
In  each  case,  a  certain  affinity  between  the  music  and  the  pictured  scene 
should  be  sought. 

There  exists  a  great  deal  of  music  that  by  its  very  name  suggests  wood- 
land scenes,  or  quaint  gardens  (see  especially  the  works  of  MacDowell, 
Nevin,  or  Grieg). 

"Water  scenes,"  on  the  other  hand,  may  differentiate  between  views 
of  brooks,  lakes,  rivers,  or  oceans.  Here,  again,  any  number  of  compositions 
with  suggestive  titles  will  give  the  player  ample  material  to  choose  from.  A 
frequent  occurrence  is  the  showing  of  cascades  or  rapids.  These  lend  them- 
selves admirably  to  musical  illustration  by  means  of  brilliant  arpeggios 


42     MUSICAL  ACCOMPANIMENT  OF   MOVING   PICTURES 

or  purling  runs.  The  seascape,  in  turn,  may  be  shown  in  a  state  of  utter 
cahn,  of  moderate  motion,  or  lashed  by  a  storm.  Each  will  require  a 
different  musical  treatment. 

While  it  is  difficult  to  give  a  complete  catalogue  of  music  that  will  embrace 
all  possible  travel  pictures,  the  following  suggestions  will  at  least  serve 
to  call  the  player's  attention  to  some  of  the  scenes  he  is  likely  to  encounter. 
He  will  do  well  to  reckon  with  these  possibilities  and  to  fix  in  his  mind 
certain  musical  subjects  that  he  will  always  have  available,  at  short  notice. 

Among  the  pictures  of  the  U.  S.  A.  the  player  will  have  to  reckon  with 
Southern  scenes  (negro  activities,  etc.),  which  will  call  for  tunes  that  are 
typical  of  the  South,  such  as  the  songs  of  Stephen  Foster  and  others. 
The  West  wall  furnish  pictures  of  cowboys,  round-ups,  mining  activities, 
mountain  scenes,  etc.,  which  may  be  made  more  graphic  by  the  playing 
of  music  that  approximates  the  particular  situation.  Coast  scenes  will 
generally  demand  music  that  in  some  way  suggests  the  water.  From  the 
North  you  may  expect  views  of  winter  sports,  such  as  skating,  skiing,  or 
ice-boating.  The  player  should  know  a  number  of  typically  American 
songs  and  tunes,  representative  of  various  States  and  races. 

The  Orient,  in  general,  furnishes  a  limited  type  of  views.  There  are 
processions,  temple  scenes,  dances,  fete  days,  and  the  like.  The  player 
should  command  over  a  fairly  representative  repertoire  of  exotic  strains,  some 
t5T)ical  of  Arabia  and  Persia,  some  of  India,  others  of  China  and  Japan. 
There  are  distinct  differences  between  the  music  of  these  countries,  and 
an  earnest  student  of  the  subject  will  try  to  find  something  characteristic 
of  each  of  them.  It  is  here,  in  particular,  that  the  player  may  exert  a 
great  educative  influence  on  the  audience.  Rather  gloomy  and  monotonous 
music  will  befit  the  desert,  while  briUiant  and  scintillating  music  should 
accompany  the  hustle  and  bustle  of  Oriental  street  scenes  and  bazaars. 
As  a  rule.  Oriental  music  is  distinguished  rather  by  a  peculiar  inflection 
of  the  melody  than  by  variety  of  harmonic  treatment.  The  latter  belongs 
to  the  Occident.  Therefore  it  will  often  suffice  if  the  player  adheres  for 
his  accompaniment  to  a  droning  bass  of  either  an  open  fifth  or  fourth, 
or  a  stereotyped  rhythmical  figure  that  is  indicative  of  either  the  languor 
of  the  scene  (opium  dens,  harems,  etc.)  or  of  its  typical  movement  (Ara- 
bian caravans,  Oriental  dancers,  Chinese  junks).  A  few  works  may  be 
suggested  here,  as  offering  a  great  deal  of  useful  material  of  distinctly 
Oriental  color,  such  as  "Scheherazade"  by  Rimsky-Korsakov  (for  Persian- 
Arabian  motives),  the  opera  "Lakme"  by  DeUbes  and  the  ballet  "Na- 
mouna"  by  Lalo  (for  East  Indian  and  Arabian  motives),  "Caucasian 
Sketches"  by  Ippolitov-Iwanov  (for  motives  from  Asiatic  Russia),  the  opera 
"Madame  Butterfly"  by  Puccini  (for  Japanese  motives),  the  piano  suites 
"Dreamer's  Tales"  and  "Betel,  Jade  and  Ivory"  by  Peterkin  (for  Chinese 


TRAVEL  VIEWS  43 

and  Malay  themes).  There  are,  of  course,  a  great  many  other  works  that 
would  come  into  consideration,  such  as  "Scenes  in  Algeria"  by  Saint- 
Saens,  African  Suites  by  Coleridge  Taylor ;  but  it  would  lead  too  far  to 
give  a  complete  enumeration,  and  it  must  be  left  to  the  zeal  of  the  player 
to  find  additional  material  that  he  may  require. 

It  may  be  well  to  remind  the  player  vnth  what  variety  of  scenes  in 
views  of  Europe  he  may  meet.  He  will  do  well  to  carry  in  his  memory  some 
of  the  well-known  folk-songs  of  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  folk- 
dances  of  Italy  and  Spain,  folk-tunes  of  Russia  and  Scandinavia,  and  some 
characteristic  songs  of  France.  It  will  not  do  always  to  play  the  national 
anthems  of  such  countries  except  when  really  national  events  are  shown. 
For  travel  pictures  the  folk-song  literature  of  these  countries  should  be 
drawn  upon.^ 


1  Much  useful  music  will  be  found  in  the  volumes  of  various  national  schools  contained 
in  the  Boston  Music  Company  Edition  and  mentioned  in  footnote  on  page  40. 


PART  III 
THE  THEATRICAL  ORGAN 

1.   Peculiarities  of  Organ  Technique 

The  difficulties  peculiar  to  playing  on  and  handling  of  the  organ  as 
distinguished  from  the  pianoforte  may  be  classified  as  follows : 

a.  How  to  sit  at  the  organ. 

b.  Pedalling  (playing  with  the  feet). 

c.  Independence  of  movement  between  hands  and  feet,  separately 
and  in  combination. 

d.  Use  of  legato  and  staccato  touch. 

6.  Registration  (management  of  stops  and  various  mechanical  appli- 
ances). 

Fluent  piano  technique  is  the  first  requisite  for  a  successful  theatrical 
organist.  Assuming  that  the  candidate  possesses  this,  coupled  with  expert 
sight-reading  ability  and  a  talent  for  improvising,  he  is  ready  for  the  work. 

a.    How  to  sit  at  the  organ 

This  is  perhaps  the  most  important  item  of  a  theatrical  organist's 
equipment,  since  he  must  contend  with  long  hours  and  physical  strain. 

Seat  yourself  in  the  middle  of  the  bench  (and  stay  there).  Now  lift 
up  both  feet  and  hold  them  over  the  pedals,  with  the  tips  of  the  boots  over 
the  black  keys  and  the  heels  over  the  white,  at  the  same  time  holding  both 
hands  over  the  manuals  (keyboards  for  the  hands)  ready  to  play.  Move 
the  hands  and  feet  in  the  air.  If  you  have  an  uncomfortable  sensation 
that  you  are  going  to  fall  off  or  tip  over,  the  bench  is  too  far  away  from  the 
keys  or,  most  likely  of  all,  you  are  sitting  too  near  its  edge.  Try  the  bench 
at  different  distances  from  the  keyboard  until  you  find  the  right  spot  where 
by  sitting  erectly  and  well  back  on  the  bench,  using  the  end  of  the  spine  as 
the  center  of  motion,  not  (barrel  hoop  fashion)  the  middle  of  the  back,  you 
can  swing  arms  and  legs  freely  and  yet  reach  the  various  manuals  with  ease. 
Arrange  your  music  at  the  proper  distance  from  your  eyes,  and  you  are 

44 


PECULIARITIES   OF   ORGAN  TECHNIQUE  45 

ready  to  play.  In  most  of  the  theatres,  the  organ  bench  is  provided  with  a 
back.  This  is  an  absolute  necessity  in  playing  long  hours.  But  do  not 
forget  that  the  bench  must  be  properly  placed,  just  the  same ;  fit  the 
bench  to  the  body  and  not  the  body  to  the  bench.  The  failure  to  sit 
correctly  brings  endless  physical  strain,  even  induces  serious  ailments, 
particularly  with  women  players.  For  the  unpleasant  arm  fatigue  en- 
countered in  playing  too  long  on  the  upper  manuals  of  a  three  or  four  manual 
organ,  a  remedy  is  found  in  coupling  through  to  one  of  the  lower  manuals, 
which  is  explained  farther  on. 

Right  here  be  it  said  that  every  excess  or  unnecessary  movement  of  the 
arms  and  legs  is  so  much  energy  thrown  away.  There  are  organists  and 
pianists  who  have  acquired  an  unhappy  "futurist"  style  of  performance 
by  throwing  the  hands  in  the  air  at  the  end  of  a  (to  them)  thrilling  passage, 
waving  the  body,  shaking  the  head  —  all  of  which  is  so  much  electricity 
gone  to  waste.  The  man  who  sits  in  absolute  repose  before  his  organ, 
perfectly  balanced,  muscles  relaxed  and  easy,  with  no  hifalutin  motions, 
is  the  man  who  is  going  to  last  the  longest  and  produce  the  most  virile  and 
forceful  music. 

b.  Pedalling 

Wear  round-toed,  medium-heeled  shoes,  with  flexible  soles,  not  too  thin. 

The  pedals  are  played  by  means  of  the  heel  and  toes.  (The  flat  of  the 
foot  is  used  only  when  a  group  of  two  or  three  "  black  "  keys  are  encountered, 
viz:  CS,  D#;  F^,  Git,  Aft,  or  Bb,  Ab,  Gb;  Eb,  Dk)  This  means  that 
a  flexible  ankle  is  of  the  utmost  importance.  The  leg,  contrary  to  general 
notions,  is  not  used  except  as  a  means  of  carrying  the  foot  to  the  desired 
position.  The  actual  playing  of  the  pedals  begins  at  the  ankle.  This  is  a 
principle  similar  to  that  which  governs  piano  playing,  a  loose  wrist  being 
there  the  first  requisite,  as  is  a  loose  ankle  in  organ  pedalHng. 

Place  the  foot  in  position,  press  down  the  toe  and  then  the  heel,  and  so 
on,  alternating  toe  and  heel ;  when  the  toe  goes  down  the  heel  is  released, 
when  the  heel  is  pressed  down  the  toes  are  released,  using  a  free  ankle  as 
the  center  of  action. 

Should  the  ankle  be  allowed  to  become  stiff  and  rigid,  the  weight  of  the 
whole  leg  will  be  used  to  drive  the  sole  of  the  foot  against  the  pedal  keys, 
resulting  in  the  destruction  or  injury  of  the  pedal  mechanism  and  most 
certainly  rendering  absolutely  impossible  the  performance  of  rapid  pedal 
passages. 

Do  not  look  at  the  pedal  hoard  while  playing. 

Having  seated  yourself  correctly  in  the  centre  of  the  bench,  prepared 
to  stay  in  the  centre,  you  are  ready  to  learn  to  "feel  with  your  toes"  —  \'iz, 


46     MUSICAL  ACCOMPANLMENT  OF  MOVING   PICTURES 

play  without  looking  at  the  feet.  Locate  the  spaces  between  the  groups  of 
short  keys.  They  correspond  exactly  to  the  open  space  between  the  groups 
of  black  keys  on  the  piano  —  Bb  and  C?f  —  Eb  and  F^. 


Dt>  h.'o 


Pedal-Board 

Thrust  the  foot  into  the  space  marked  2  in  the  drawing,  the  toes  will 
then  be  over  the  ends  of  E  and  F ;  then  into  the  spaces  marked  3,  4,  etc. 

Having  thus  located  these  spaces,  the  adjoining  "  black  "  keys  are  easily 
found.  This  method  of  feeling  for  the  whereabouts  of  the  notes  until  one's 
feet  by  long  habit  go  there  of  their  own  accord,  is  the  same  as  that  of  a  blind 
man  first  learning  to  play  the  piano.  He  must  perforce  feel  for  the  spaces 
between  the  black  keys  and  then  get  his  bearings. 

There  are  various  books  of  pedal  exercise  which  can  be  used  in  practicing ; 
or  the  average  musician  can  easily  improvise  his  own  exercises,  using  those 
intervals  most  often  encountered  in  his  own  work. 


c.  Independence  of  movement  between  hands  and  feet,  separately  and  in 

combination 

For  the  theatrical  organist,  tliis  is  of  prime  importance,  since  the  left 
hand  comes  into  a  special  realm  of  its  own  in  tliis  work.  Practice  playing 
all  tunes  with  the  left  hand,  making  them  "sing"  as  they  would  if  played 
by  the  right  hand.  Then  try  playing  any  tune  you  desire  with  the  left 
hand,  with  expression,  and  in  strict  time,  in  the  meantime  playing  a 
chromatic  scale  up  and  down  another  manual.  After  this  can  be  done, 
make  the  right  hand  more  elaborate,  playing  arpeggios  of  various  kinds. 
Finally  try  playing  an  entirely  different  tune  with  the  right  hand,  keeping 
both  tunes  going  at  once,  each  complete  in  itself.  When  this  can  be  done 
(which  will  not  be  in  a  day  or  a  week)  add  a  pedal  obbUgato ;  i.e.  a  bass 


FOUR-MANUAL  CONSOLE 
(M.  P.  Moller) 


TWO-MAX  UAL  COXSOLP] 
(Rudolph  Wurlitzer  iSIfg.  Co.) 


PECULIARITIES   OF   ORGAN  TECHNIQUE  47 

melody,  or  play  the  tune  on  the  pedals,  an  obbligato  with  the  left  hand  and 
variations  with  the  right  hand. 

When  practicing  scales  on  the  pedals,  always  play  a  scale  with  the  left 
hand  at  the  same  time,  in  contrary  motion  to  the  one  you  are  practicing 
on  the  pedals.  This  serves  to  break  the  "invisible  wire"  that  seems  to  run 
down  your  left  arm  through  your  left  leg.  It  also  serves  as  a  guard  against 
getting  out  of  position  on  the  bench. 

When  reaching  for  notes  at  the  end  of  the  pedal-board,  do  not  slide 
along  the  bench,  but  instead,  turn  the  body  as  little  as  necessary,  the  end 
of  the  spine  as  a  pivot. 

d.  Staccato  and  legato  touch 

Theatrical  work  is  the  antithesis  of  church  playing.  A  crisp,  clean 
staccato  (detached)  touch  is  the  first  requisite.  Most  everything  is 
played  staccato,  except  for  special  effects,  such  as  the  main  love  theme, 
church  scenes,  or  similar  situations  for  which  a  legato  (connected)  touch  is 
wanted. 

The  best  pattern  that  can  be  followed  is  the  orchestra.  Make  use  of 
every  opportunity  to  listen  to  an  orchestra.  Watch  the  attacks,  releases 
and  styles  of  playing  of  the  different  instruments,  solo  and  ensemble. 
Especially  try  to  get  the  general  effect  of  the  concerted  staccato  and  legato. 
By  carefully  listening  to  the  good  theatrical  orchestras  travelling  with  good 
opera  and  musical  comedy  companies,  an  entire  course  of  instruction  in 
itself  may  be  had  in  this  manner ;  not  only  instruction  in  touch  and  style, 
but  also  in  tonal  coloring,  or  "registration." 

e.     Registration 

(Management  of  the  stops  and  various  mechanical  appliances,  combina- 
tion of  stops,  etc.) 

Here,  again,  the  theatrical  organist  must  be  an  orchestra  director  and 
arranger  in  thought  and  spirit.  Go  to  the  orchestra  for  your  tonal  effects 
and  combinations. 

Many  ideas  concerning  registration  can  be  gained  by  playing  from 
"conductor's"  (or  piano)  parts  of  orchestrations,  and  by  substituting  for 
the  "  cues"  the  organ  stops  corresponding  to  the  instruments  designated. 
The  following  will  be  a  guide  to  such  "  orchestral  "  registration. 

2.   "Orchestration"  by  Means  of  Organ  Stops 

As  a  rule,  the  tone-quaUty  of  a  stop  is  indicated  by  its  name ;  i.e.  Flute, 
Trumpet,  Oboe,  Violin,  etc. 


48     MUSICAL  ACCOMPANIMENT  OF  MOVING   PICTURES 

The  pitch  of  the  stop  is  indicated  by  numerals,  placed  after  its  name ; 
i.e.  Flute  8',  Bourdon  16',  Piccolo  2',  Viol  4'. 

8'  (meaning  "eight-foot  tone")  indicates  that  the  key  struck  will 
sound  unison  pitch,  or  the  same  as  it  would  if  struck  on  the  piano.  This 
pitch  is  produced  by  a  pipe  8  ft.  in  length. 

A  pipe  of  4',  proportionately  formed,  will  sound  notes  one  octave  higher 
than  one  of  8'. 

So  also  a  pipe  of  16'  will  produce  a  tone  one  octave  lower  than  one  of  8' ; 
similarly  a  pipe  of  2'  will  sound  two  octaves  above  one  of  8',  etc. 

Stops  of  8'  (or  unison  pitch),  4',  or  2'  are  called  "Foundation"  stops, 
unless  specially  voiced  for  solo  use. 

Stops  of  5'  4"  (5  feet  4  inches)  and  2'  8"  are  called  "Mutation"  stops, 
because  the  pipes  of  these  stops  sound  a  pitch  other  than  that  of  unison 
or  its  octaves. 

Stops  having  several  pipes  to  each  note  are  called  "Compound"  stops 
or  are  more  generally  known  as  "  Mixtures. " 

The  following  is  a  list  of  stops  Ukely  to  be  encountered  on  a  journey 
from  a  small  two-manual  to  a  large  four-manual  theatrical  organ.  Every 
organ  builder  has  his  own  ideas  in  the  matter  of  stop  nomenclature,  but  the 
name  generally  gives  some  indication  as  to  the  tone-quahty.  The  stops 
have  been  classified  according  to  their  orchestral  usefulness,  and  not 
divided  into  "organs,"  with  the  idea  in  mind  that  having  once  learned  the 
meaning  of  the  various  names,  the  player  will  be  able  to  identify  the  stops 
with  ease,  no  matter  where  he  may  find  them.  In  these  days  of  "duplex" 
organ  building,  one  is  never  sure  to  find  certain  stops  on  the  same  manuals. 

The  manuals  (or  "organs")  are  usually  arranged  in  the  following 
order : 

1.  Solo 

2.  Swell 

3.  Great 

4.  Orchestral  (choir) 

Small  organs  always  lack  the  first  manual,  and  sometimes  also  the  fourth. 
The  stops  are  either  in  the  form  of  draw-knobs  at  the  sides,  or  in  rows  of 
ivory  tablets  at  the  top,  just  above  the  upper  manual,  as  indicated  in  the 
various  illustrations.  In  the  use  of  draw-stops,  the  "coupler"  tablets  are 
generally  placed  above.  These  "  couplers  "  are  mechanical  devices  whereby 
the  stops  in  any  one  manual  may  be  added  to  any  other  manual.  Thus 
by  turning  down  the  tablet  marked  "Swell  to  Great"  we  can  play  on  the 
Great  manual  and  yet  have  any  or  all  of  the  Swell  stops  at  our  command. 
When  the  prolonged  playing  on  an  upper  manual  becomes  irksome,  shut 


"ORCHESTRATION"   BY  MEANS   OF  ORGAN  STOPS      49 

off  all  orchestral  stops  from  the  orchestral  manual  and  couple  the  "Swell 
to  Orchestral,"  and  you  have  your  "Swell"  manual  moved  down  several 
inches. 

These  couplers  are  only  used  for  joining  less  to  greater,  thus :  Swell  to 
Orchestral,  Swell  to  Great,  Orchestral  to  Great  —  never  Great  to  Swell, 
A  hst  of  "couplers"  will  be  found  at  the  end  of  the  enumeration  of  stops. 


Manual  Stops 

Foundation  Stops 

'  Voix  Celeste 
Salicional  (Salicet) 
Duleiana 
Keraulophon 
Gamba 

Viol  de  Gamba 
Gemshorn 
Dolce 
Aeoline 

Geigen  Principal 
Dulcet 
Viol  d'amour 

Stopped  Diapason 
8'  tone  {  LiebHch  Gedaekt 
Rohrflote 

Grosse  Flote  (great  flute) 
Doppel  Flote  (double  flute) 
Harmonic  Flute 
Melodia 

Waldflote  (woodland  flute) 
Flauto  Dolce  (sweet  flute) 
Concert  Flute 
Clarabella 
Clarinet 
Saxophone 

Small  Open  Diapason 
Large  Open  Diapason 

Gemshorn  (Alpine  horn) 

Salicet 

Viol  d'amour 

4'  tone  I  Flute  Harmonique 

Waldflote 
Flute  d'amour 

Principal,  or  Octave 


Strings 


Wood  wind 


Organ  tone 


Strings 


Wood  wind 


Organ  tone 


50     MUSICAL  ACCOMPANIMENT  OF  MOVING   PICTURES 


2' tone 


Piccolo  (small  flute) 
Flageolet  or  Flautina 
Gemshom  (Alpine  horn) 
F^ifteenth  or  Super-Octave 


Wood  wind 


16'  tone 


'  Contra-Hautboy 
Contra-Fagotto 
Contra-Posaune 

[  Ophicleide 

Oboe  (orchestral) 

Bassoon 

Oboe  or  Hautboy 

English  Horn 


8' tone 


Vox  Humana 
French  Horn 
Trumpet 
Tuba  MirabiUs 
Horn 

Cornopean 
I  Posaune 


Reed  Stops 
Correspond  to  the  brass  choir  in  orchestra 

Same  tone  as  their  prototypes  in  orchestra 
Imitation  of  the  human  voice 
>  Brass  choir 


4'  tone     Clarion 


Very  brilliant,  flaring  brass 


Mutation  Stops 


5'  4"  —  Quint 

2'  8"  —  Twelfth,  or  Octave-Quint 

2'       —  Fifteenth 

Compound  Stops 

„     ,     ^      ,      .       f  Echo  comet 
Each  stop  having 

several    pipes    to 

each  note 


Sesqmaltera 
Mixture 
Sharp  Mixture 


These  stops,  combining  several  tones  in  one, 
add  richness  and  brilliancy.  They  vary  in 
different  organs  as  to  tonal  power,  i.e.  forte 
or  piano,  and  must  be  experimented  with. 
The  tone-quality,  generally  speaking,  of 
compound  stops  is  that  of  the  wood-wind 
section  of  the  orchestra. 


The  following  will  gfive  some  idea  of  the  sound  of  these  stops : 


"Mixture,"  play  !/'  ||     will  sound     ^ 


'Sesquialtera,"  play     *^         ^      will  sound      ^  ' '    || 


"Quint,"  play 


will  sound 


"Fifteenth,"  sounding  fifteen  above  the  key  struck. 


ORCHESTRATION"  BY  MEANS  OF  ORGAN  STOPS      51 


Double  Stops 

I"  Double-stopped  Diapason 
Of  16-foot  length  or  tone  {  16'  Bourdon 

Double-open  Diapason 


No    duplicate  in  orchestra. 
Soft  &  sweet,  cloying  if  used 
too  much. 
Full,  rich  organ  tone. 


Pedal  Stops 

The  important  distinction  between  stops  on  the  Pedal  Organ  and  those 
on  the  Manuals  is  that  the  former  are  uniformly  one  octave  lower  in  pitch. 
Thus,  as  the  Open  Diapason  of  a  Manual  is  of  8'  tone,  the  Open  Diapason 
on  the  Pedal  Organ  will  be  of  16' ;  also,  as  the  Double  stops  of  the  manuals 
are  of  16'  tone,  those  of  the  pedals  are  32'. 


Foundation  Stops 

Bourdon  ff  Smooth,  full  tone ;   disturbing  if  used  too  much. 

Bourdon  pp  Soft  and  generally  useful. 

Violone  Excellent  imitation  of  contrabass  in  orchestra. 

16'  tone  I  Open  Diapason  mf  \  ^  „ 

Open  Diapason    jf/  F""'  «P^°  ^^'-^^^  ^^'^^^ 


Duleiana 
Gamba 

r  Flute 
8'  tone  <  Violoncello 
[  Octave 

r  Contra-Posaune 
32'  length  i  Bombarde 

[  Contra-Fagotto 

f  Fagotto 
Trombone 
16'  length  \  Posaune 

Ophicleide 
Tuba 
8'  length     Tuba 
4'  length     Clarion 


Light  string  tone,  duplexed  from  manuals. 


I  Correspond   to   same   stops  on    manuals.      Rather 
I  assertive  quality  when  used  in  pedal. 

Reed  Stops 

!  Brass  choir ;   corresponding  to  the  giant  tubas  seen 
I  occasionally  in  orchestras 


>  Brass  choir 


Brass  choir 
Brass  choir 

Double  Stops 


'  Sub-bass  or 

Double-stopped  Diapason  or 
32'  tone  <  Contra-Bourdon 
I  Diapason 
[  Violone 


Used  in  combination. 
Only  for  special  effects. 
Typically  organistic  — 
not  orchestral. 


Couplers 


Swell  to  Swell  4'  —  (super-octave) 
Swell  to  Swell  16'  —  (sub-octave) 


Great  to  Great,  4' 
Great  to  Great,  16' 


52     MUSICAL  ACCOMPANIMENT  OF   MOVING   PICTURES 

Swell  to  Great 

Swell  to  Great  4'  Solo  to  Solo  4' 

SweU  to  Great  16'  Solo  to  Solo  16' 

Swell  to  Orchestral  Solo  to  Great 

Swell  to  Orchestral  4' 

Swell  to  Orchestral  16'  Swell  to  Pedal 

Swell  to  Solo  Great  to  Pedal 

Orchestral  to  Pedal 
Orchestral  to  Orchestral  Solo  to  Pedal 

Orchestral  to  Orchestral  4' 
Orchestral  to  Orchestral  16' 
Orchestral  to  Great 
Orchestral  to  Great  4' 
Orchestral  to  Great  16' 


Orchestral  to  Solo 


Pistons 

The  little  buttons  underneath  each  manual  are  called  "pistons"  and 
are  numbered  1,  2,  3,  4,  etc.  By  means  of  a  board  inside  the  organ  or,  on 
the  newer  organs,  at  the  organ  desk,  different  combinations  of  stops  may 
be  "set  up"  and  locked  under  each  of  these  pistons  so  that  by  pushing 
a  certain  button  with  the  thumb  an  entirely  new  set  of  stops  may  be  had 
in  a  fraction  of  time  and  effort.  It  is  always  safest  to  have  the  organ- 
tuner  show  you  how  to  work  the  various  mechanical  devices  on  a  strange 
organ. 

3.   Swell  Pedals  and  Crescendo  Pedal 

Swell  Pedals 

Just  above  the  pedal  keys  will  be  found  two,  three,  or  four,  balanced 
pedals  the  size  of  a  foot  which  control  the  volume  of  tone  emitted  from  the 
various  manuals.  Usually  the  Solo  is  farthest  to  the  left,  the  Orchestral 
and  Great  next,  being  combined  in  one,  then  that  of  the  Swell  organ,  with 
the  Crescendo  pedal  on  the  right. 

Learn  to  use  the  swell  pedals  with  either  foot.  Watch  the  constant 
light  and  shade  of  the  orchestra  and  try  to  imitate  this,  always  careful 
not  to  exaggerate.  Do  not  thrust  the  swell  pedals  all  the  way  in,  every 
time.  By  experimenting  and  listening  to  your  own  playing,  you  will  soon 
find  that  just  a  little  "crescendo'^  or  "diminuendo"  is  quite  sufficient,  and 
more  effective  than  a  complete  pp  -==IIII!I!II2  ///  1-——^-^^^^  VV-  A 
continuous  performance  on  this  principle  will  soon  find  the  audience  in  a 
delightfully  bewildered  state  of  mind,  bordering  on  nausea,  caused  by 
"weathering"  too  many  "tonal  waves." 

Crescendo  Pedal 

This  pedal  is  either  a  great  blessing  or  a  great  nuisance,  according  to 
the  use  to  which  you  put  it.     By  means  of  it,  the  organist  can,  with  a 


THE  IDENTIFICATION   OF  TONE-COLORS  53 

minimum  of  effort,  merely  by  pressing  the  foot,  throw  on  consecutively, 
as  regards  increase  of  tonal  power,  all  the  stops  in  the  organ.  The  trouble 
lies  in  this  very  fact :  ease  of  manipulation.  It  is  so  easy  to  keep  the  foot 
on  this  pedal,  working  it  back  and  forth  without  thought  or  reason,  instead 
of  studying  out  stop  combinations,  usually  keeping  it  at  the  full  organ, 
which  is  the  motion  picture  organist's  greatest  bugbear :  playing  too  loud. 

The  main  use  of  the  crescendo  pedal  in  theatrical  playing  is  for  sforzando 
effects  and  orchestral  accent.  By  placing  the  whole  foot  firmly  on  this 
pedal,  controlHng  it  by  a  turn  of  the  ankle,  an  instant  crash  to  ///  and  back 
again  to  the  p  combination  already  set  up  on  the  organ,  may  be  accom- 
pHshed  without  harm  to  the  instrument.  Stabbing  at  the  end  of  the  pedal 
with  a  thrust  of  the  boot  will  jar  the  mechanism  out  of  order. 

This  pedal  is  of  course  useful  in  building  up  long  crescendo  effects,  but 
these  sustained  effects  are  not  so  much  encountered  in  theatrical  work,  the 
effect  here  being  accomphshed  more  by  individual  tone  color  than  volume 
of  sound. 

4,   The  Identification  of  Tone-colors  for  Descriptive  Purposes 

(Registration) 

The  term  "tone-color"  is  a  compound,  linking  conceptions  that  belong 
to  two  different  arts,  which  are  music  and  painting.  It  is  the  simplest  way 
of  describing  certain  qualities  that  tone  possesses,  qualities  which  enable  it 
to  assume  different  hues  and  shadings,  as  it  were.  The  painter  has  at 
his  disposal  many  colors,  from  which  he  chooses  those  particular  to  the 
scene  that  he  is  depicting,  selecting  always  such  modifications  of  each  color 
as  will  express  the  very  atmosphere  that  he  wishes  to  give  to  his  picture. 
In  this  way  we  will  find  that  the  painter  has  at  his  disposal  varying  shades 
of  red,  different  tints  of  blue,  greens  which  contain  more  yellow  and  others 
which  border  on  the  black.  The  Papal  manufacture  of  mosaics  in  Rome 
differentiates  actually  between  a  little  over  25,000  distinct  color  variations. 
Tone-color,  to  be  sure,  is  not  able  to  take  on  such  a  formidable  number  of 
gradations,  but  there  are  enough  to  give  it  a  wide  range  of  different  quahties 
which  will  react  differently  upon  the  Ustener. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  tone-color  proper  is  one  of  the  three 
fundamental  characteristics  that  constitute  musical  sounds,  the  other  two 
being  pitch  and  intensity.  Therefore  the  term  tone-color  should  not  be 
mistaken  for  any  one  of  the  two  others.  A  given  tone-color  may  be  apphed 
to  musical  sounds  of  different  pitch,  high  and  low,  and  of  different  inten- 
sities, loud  or  soft. 

The  following  table  will  serve  as  first  aid  in  "registration"  or  the  use 
of  organ-stops  (tone-colors)  either  singly  or  in  combination. 


54     MUSICAL  ACCOMPANIMENT  OF   MOVING   PICTURES 

For  "Neutral"  Scenes  (no emotion)  scenery ;  action  ]  String   tones,    16',   8',   4,' 
ha\'ing  no  definite  intensity  ;   views  from  an  aeroplane  [  2',  as  solo  with  accompani- 
(when  the  hum  of  the  motor  is  the  only  sound)  or  ^^ews  |  ment    and    in   4-pt.    har- 
from  a  great  height.     Also  (see  special  effects)  wind,  J  mony. 
rain,  etc. 

For  Specific  Emotions,  Moods,  and  Situations. 


light 
pedal 


Love solo  flute  4'  —  ace.  of  strings  or  harp. 

close  harmony  strings  16',  8',  4',  2'  and  Vox 

Humana, 
saxophone  solo  —  strings  8',  flute  8'  accom- 
paniment. 
Happiness 

Springtime,  sunshine  .     flutes,  16',  8',  4',  2'  and  strings. 
Joy same  as  above,  intensified  in  volume  by  coupUng  the 

various  manuals  together. 

Hope flute  8'  —  string  ace. 

Victory full  organ. 

Exaltation organ  tone,  rising  to  full  organ. 

Prayer solo  flute  8'  or  Vox  Humana  4-pt.  harmony. 

Church  scenes  ....     organ  tone,  coupled  &  heavj'  Ped. 
Impressive  dignity  organ  tone,  coupled  &  heavy  Ped. 

Suspicion clarinet  solo  with  string  ace. 

Entreaty saxophone  solo  with  string  8'  and  flute  8'  ace. 

Yearning Vox  Humana  solo  with  string  16',  8',  4',  2'  ace. 

Anxiety full  string  choir  and  Vox  Humana  in  4-pt.  harmony  — 

tremolo. 
Temptation       ....     clarinet  or  oboe  with  string  ace. 
Hatred soft  toned  reeds  gradually  increasing  in  volume  of 

tone  to  climax. 
Suspense  and  impending     The  clarinet  alone  or  any  flute  that  is  a  near  approach 
disaster to  an  orchestral  French  horn  when  used  as  solo, 

alone,  and  without  the  tremulant ;  use  a  string  ace. 

tremolo. 

Defiance reeds  ???/. 

Treachery reeds  mj. 

Rage reeds,  varjing  the  volume  of  tone  according  to  the 

intensity  of  the  mood. 
Cruelty reed  (Cornopean)  either  as  solo  and  strings  16',  8', 

4',  2'  with  double  st.  Diap.  16'  as  ace.  or  in  4-pt. 

harmony. 

Torture reeds  /. 

Grief oboe  or  clarinet   solo,   string  and  flute  ace.  or  full 

string  choir  and  Vox  Humana. 

Despair clarinet  solo. 

Passion reed  solo  plaj'ed  in  lower  octaves,  strings,  flute  8'  and 

clarinet  as  accompaniment,  mf  pedal. 
Renunciation    ....     Vox   Humana   or   mellow   flute   8'   played   in   lower 

octaves  of  keyboard  —  no  pedal. 
Dreaming string   choir    16',  8',  4',  2',  and    harp.     Very    light 

pedal. 


THE  IDENTIFICATION  OF  TONE-COLORS 


55 


Nature  Scenes 
Shimmering  water 

Birds  singing     . 
Morning  (Dawn)  . 

Night       .     .     .     . 


Comedy 


Tension 

Agitatos  ("hurries") 
mobs,  horse-races, 
wild-west  scenes, 
fights,  pursuits. 


faUs 

crashes      

Misterioso 

Scenes  of  mystery,  or 
suppressed  alarm,  sinister 
forebodings,  ghost  scenes, 
supernatural  apparitions, 
etc. 


Recitative 

For  scenes  as  mentioned 
above  under  misterioso, 
for  scenes  of  superlative 
tension. 


string  choir  16',  8',  4',  2'  in  upper  octaves  with  harp 

arpeggios  as  ace.     Very  light  pedal. 
Flute  Harmonique  4'  or  piccolo  2'. 
flute    4'    as    solo  —  strings  tremolo    ace. ;    no  pedal 

(increasing  in  intensity  as  dawn  spreads,  beginning 

pp.  with  crescendo  to  full  organ,  if  sun  bursts  forth), 
mellow  flute  without  tremulant  played  4-pt.  harmony 

in  lower  octaves  —  no  pedal. 

flutes  8',  4',  coupled  to  oboe  16'  and  piccolo  2'  as 
solo,  with  flute  and  string  ace,  played  staccato 
and  at  a  lively  tempo,  make  a  bright  setting.  Use 
light  pedal.  The  heavy  Doppel  Flote  or  Grosse 
Flote  can  be  used  in  burlesque  effect,  staccato, 
gUssando,  etc.  For  "jazz"  effects,  use  strings  8', 
4',  and  clarinet  in  right  hand  ace,  "jazzing"  with 
the  left  hand,  using  saxophone,  or  heavy  flute  and 
saxophone  with  an  assertive  but  not  too  heavy 
pedal.  The  xylophone  is  always  used  as  a  solo. 
Use  xylophone  and  piccolo  2',  or  xylophone, 
clarinet,  flute  4'  with  string  8'  and  flute  8'  accom- 
paniment, light  pedal. 

These  numbers  should  be  characterized  first  by  their 
rhythm  and  tempo.  The  tone-coloring  is  according 
to  the  mood  —  joy,  suspense,  hatred,  etc.  A  pedal 
cadenza  often  adds  to  the  climax  of  a  fight,  mob 
scene,  etc. 

Sudden  opening  and  closing  of  the  Crescendo  Pedal. 

All  of  the  above  effects  are  intensified  or  lessened 
by  the  swell  pedals,  controlling  the  volume  of  tone. 

Softest  strings  tremolo,  and  as  the  situation  grows 
more  tense  the  music  should  rather  become  softer 
than  louder,  yet  the  movement  and  the  mood  must 
be  sustained.  The  tremolo  will  be  most  effective 
if  the  speed  is  accelerated,  while  the  volume  of 
tone  is  lessened.  Immediately  before  the  cHmax, 
it  is  well  to  go  into  a  recitative,  however  short, 
ushering  in  the  climax  either  by  means  of  an  absolute 
silence  (in  cases  of  horror  or  in  the  presence  of 
tragedy)  or  by  a  sforzando  chord  leading  into  the 
proper  motive  (in  cases  of  victory  or  successful 
denouement  of  the  tension). 

The  quaUty  of  the  recitative  must  always  be  dramatic, 
that  is,  it  must  be  expressive  of  the  proper  mood 
which  it  is  to  portray,  either  horror  or  mystery  or 
suspense.  Samples  of  recitatives  may  be  found 
in  a  great  many  operas  where  they  are  employed. 


56     MUSICAL  ACCOMPANIMENT  OF   MOVING   PICTURES 

particularly  in  passages  where  the  dramatic  action 
progresses  quickly.  To  convey  the  appropriate 
color,  make  use  of  the  "uncanny"  registers  of  the 
clarinet  and  bassoon  stops ;  for  cruelty,  a  coarse 
reed  such  as  the  Cornopean  will  prove  useful. 

The  player  will  often  find  moments  when,  on  first 
seeing  a  picture,  the  development  of  the  story  will 
leave  him  puzzled ;  rather  than  make  a  misstep, 
he  wiU  do  well  to  abide  his  time  by  means  of  a  short 
recitative,  until  the  trend  of  events  becomes 
obvious. 

There  are  situations  in  comedy  dramas  and  in  farces 
where  an  occasional  recitative  will  be  most  fitting; 
naturally,  the  treatment  of  the  recitative  itself, 
as  well  as  organ  stop  employed,  should  emphasize 
the  humor  of  the  situation.  The  use  of  a  heavy 
flute  in  a  burlesque  fashion  will  depict  ludicrous 
antics,  and  that  of  a  hght  screechy  reed  maybe 
easily  manipulated  to  indicate  gossiping  women, 

etc. 

« 

Avoid  constant  use  of  too  heavy  pedal  tone!  Nothing  gets  on  the 
nerves  of  the  audience  quicker  than  the  ever  present  deep  rumble  of  the 
pedal.  Use  pedal  8'  rather  than  pedal  16',  and  learn  to  use  it  as  part  of 
the  harmony,  not  just  hop  toad  fashion  with  the  left  foot,  such  as  this, 


'■■y'  J  y  J  »  J  »  J  ^  1  ^^^  treat  the  bass  as  the  foundation  of  the  harmony 
and  as  an  independently  moving  voice,  such  as 


m   A 

4V  tt'l         XX. 

r  w 

)•  ff«/ ir-i— 

1  i  i 

— i  i 

i»  /■ 

? 

» i  i 

,  i  i 



i    i 

—\— 



=±==1^^<ULJ 

-»*•*■■ 

y=H 

1  r^  *  1 

ti 

— 

or,  for  a  march  time,  in  the  style  of  the  following 


5.   Special  Effects,  and  How  to  Produce  Them 

The  best,  and  the  only  safe,  way  of  producing  special  effects,  is  to 
leave  them  in  the  hands  of  a  capable  trap-drummer  who  has  provided 
himself  with  all  the  hundred  and  one  noise-making  apparatuses,  now  on 
the  market,  for  imitating  everything  from  a  baby's  cry  of  "Ma-ma"  to  a 
horse-laugh,  "Ha-Ha";  whistles;  squeals;  imitations  of  the  various 
sounds  made  by  machinery,  i.e.  sawmills,  motors  (aeroplane,  automobile, 


O 
'■J 


y. 


SPECIAL   EFFECTS,   AND   HOW  TO   PRODUCE  THEM     57 


motor  boats,  steam  engines,  motor  cycles) ;  shots  (cannon,  rifle,  revolver) ; 
crashes  ;  breaking  glass  ;  crumbling  of  walls  ;  falling  timber ;  rain  ;  thun- 
der ;  surf ;  tramp  of  marching  feet ;  knocks ;  raps ;  burlesque  falls  where 
the  hero,  a  Charlie  Chaplin  or  Fatty  Arbuckle,  comes  to  earth  with  the 
sound  of  a  clap  of  thunder  assisted  by  a  dozen  tin  wash-boilers,  topped  off 
by  a  Chinese  gong. 

There  has  been  much  discussion  as  to  whether  or  not  such  performance 
comes  under  the  duties  of  the  organist.  The  writers  do  not  think  so.  No 
one  can  play  the  organ  artistically  and  at  the  same  time  work  traps.  It  is 
better  therefore  to  let  pass  unnoticed  such  effects  as  cannot  be  produced 
easily  and  legitimately  on  the  organ  itself.  Of  course,  on  the  new  unit 
orchestra  "organs,"  these  traps  are  actually  a  part  of  the  instrument,  the 
organist  merely  pushing  a  button  or  tapping  a  pedal  for  a  certain  effect. 
The  fact  that  these  contraptions  are  usually  out  of  working  order  takes 
us  back  to  the  assumption  that  the  organist  had  better  let  the  traps  alone. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  legitimate  "special  effects" : 

Rain  —  light  string  tone  in  quick  arpeggii  or  tremolo. 

Wind  and  rain  —  light  string  tone  in  fast  chromatic  scales  in  3ds,  6ths,  and  4ths. 

Wind  and  rain  and  thunder  —  all  the  above  with  heavy  pedal  tone,  holding  down 

two  pedal  notes  at  once  when  rumble  of  thunder  is  desired. 
Crash  of  thunder  —  any  heavy  chord,  played  sfz  in  the  lower  register,  full  organ 

and  ped.,  with  immediate  diminuendo. 

Whistles  —  a  minor  or  augmented  chord ; 


^N  -  ^ 


Each  organist  should  determine  for  himself  a  characteristic  chord,  by  listening 
to  the  town  fire  whistle  or  to  the  locomotive,  and  deciphering  the  tones  for 
himself. 
Bells  —  Almost  every  theatrical  organ  has  a  set  of  bells ;   hence  there  is  no  need  of 
imitation.     On  the  piano,  chimes  may  be  imitated  thus : 


Glissando  —  This  effect  is  especially  useful  in  comedy,  refined  and  burlesque.  A 
shp  or  fall  is  emphasized  by  a  glissando  with  one  hand  followed  by  a  bump  with 
full  organ,  swells  closed  as  desired.  The  glissando  is  produced  by  stiffening 
the  thumb  and  dragging  it  up  or  down  the  length  of  the  keyboard,  using  the 
thumb  nail  as  the  point  of  contact.  The  glissando  is  used  to  illustrate  a 
"shp,"  sudden  descent  of  an  aeroplane,  whizzing  of  an  automobile  around  a 
corner,  any  sUding  sensation  or  one  of  intense  speed. 


58     MUSICAL  ACCOMPANIMENT  OF  MOVING   PICTURES 


Bump  or  fall  —  Slap  the  keys  with  the  palm  of  the  hand,  lower  octaves  for  a 
heavy  fall,  upper  octaves  for  lighter  effects. 

Silence  —  This  is  one  of  the  most  important  and  telling  effects  when  properly  used. 
Any  extremely  tense  situation  is  heightened  by  a  moment's  silence,  just  before 
the  climax  is  reached.  Suspense,  such  as  when  two  people,  searching  for 
each  other,  are  almost  in  contact  yet  each  unconscious  of  the  other  person's 
nearness.  In  the  presence  of  death,  a  "close-up"  view  of  a  dead  person, 
absolute  silence  is  the  only  adequate  description,  dramatically,  pictorially  and 
musically. 

Recitative  —  Use  recitative  every  now  and  then  to  lighten  the  musical  setting,  or 
to  heighten  a  tension. 

Xylophone  —  This  stop  is  useful  in  comedies.  Use  it  only  as  solo,  very  staccato, 
with  light  string  ace. 

Approaching  a  cUmax  —  Thereby  is  meant  that  tense  moment  when,  in  a  great 
automobile  sweepstakes  race,  the  cars  are  approaching  "death  curve,"  or 
when  we  can  see  them  in  the  distance  coming  into  the  final  "home-stretch" ; 
or  where  a  man  is  on  a  great  height  and  is  about  to  fall,  either  to  safety  or 
destruction,  etc.,  etc. ;  in  such  cases  a  low  menacing  rumble  is  of  great  help 
in  heightening  the  suspense.  This  is  produced  by  a  trill  in  the  lower  octaves, 
with  soft  string  and  16'  bourdon  tones.  Sometimes  just  a  pedal  rumble  is 
the  thing,  produced  by  holding  down  two  adjacent  pedal  keys. 

ri—- ^^ 


Manuals 


m 


M: 


3 


-T^ 


or    Pedal 


PB5 


(held  to- 
gether) 


This  rumble  is  frequently  noticed  in  the  orchestra  during  acrobatic  acts  in 
vaudeville.!  When  the  "thriller"  of  the  act  is  about  to  take  place,  the  or- 
chestra stops  and  the  snaredrum  begins  its  subtle,  sinister  rumble,  increasing 
in  volume  until  the  successful  fall  or  jump  takes  place,  when  the  whole  orchestra 
comes  in  fortissimo  to  applaud  the  performance. 


6 


Any  music  Allegro  -  seems  to  convey  this  effect. 

o 


Galloping  horses 

Cavalry"  Overture  by  Suppe  seems  to  be  the  most  popular  selection. 


"  Light 


*j^ 


m 


^  f   *  *  y-d^-  i  y  T=» 


Bi^ 


By  playing  this  rhythm  softly  the  effect  of  distance  is  lent ;  increasing  the 
volume  of  tone  brings  the  horses  nearer  in  the  mind  of  the  listener.  A  more 
ambitious  player  may  also  study  the  "  Ride  of  the  Valkyries  "  by  Wagner,  or 
"Mazeppa"  by  Liszt. 
Jazz  band  —  The  only  way  to  imitate  a  jazz  band  is  to  hear  one  of  these  unique 
organizations.  There  is  no  way  of  describing  it.  Each  and  every  player 
must  hear  these  peculiar  effects  for  himself  and  then  imitate  them  according 
to  his  impression  thereof.  The  general  idea  is  to  have  one  hand  play  the 
tune,  while  the  other  hand  "jazzes"  or  syncopates  around  it,  the  pedals 
performing  the  drum  and  double  bass  parts.     The  ability  to  lift  your  audience's 


I  By  careful  observance  of  good  vaudeville  performances,  many  ideas  may  be  gained  in 
the  way  of  special  effects,  particularly  for  comedy  work. 


SPECIAL   EFFECTS,  AND   HOW  TO  PRODUCE  THEM     59 


feet  off  the  floor  in  sympathetic  rhythm  is  the  truest  test ;  that  you  will 
distress  the  ears  of  really  musical  people  goes  without  saying,  but  you  will 
not  distress  their  sense  of  rhythm.  This  rhythm  on  your  part  must  be  per- 
fectly maintained,  no  matter  what  stunts  you  may  perform  with  hands  and 
feet. 

Feathered  animals 

Hens  cackling  — 


Rooster  crowing  — 


Birds  singing  —  high  flute  in  trills  —  chromatically  rising  and  descending 
Robins  — 


Larks- 


=  E2 


m 


Cuckoo  (or  clock)  — 


^^   Hi     |0<     iH  i     ;|| 


(a  minor  third,  not  major !) 
Parrot  —  Use  a  light  reed  tone  in  recitative  in  imitation  of  a  person  talking. 

Grotesque  animal  sounds 
Pigs  grunting  — 


'f  i  ,j  rjjite   ■    i.r  i-jiife 


with  any  tone  that  will  give  a  "grunting"  sound. 
Donkey  braying  — 


(Musical  "  cue-sheet  ") 

''ROSE   OF   THE   WORLD" 

No. 

Min.      (.T)ille  or  CD)escr\ption 

Tempo 

Selections 

REEL  No.  1 

1 

n 

At  screening 

2/4  Allegro 

Farandole  —  Bizet 

2 

H 

T  —  Rosamond  English  4/4  Moderato 

>  Rose  in  the  Bud  — 

Foster 

3 

u 

D  —  Harry  leaves 
boudoir 

2/4  Allegro 

•  Farandole  —  Bizet 

4 

1 

T  —  For  two  months, 
no  word  came 

4/4  Allegro  furioso 

Furioso  No.  1  —  Langey 
(Battle  music) 

5 

u 

T  —  Then  the  survivors 
returned 

4/4  Tempo  di  mar  da 

The  Rookies  —  Dnmim 

6 

u 

D  —  Rosamond  and 
Berthune 

3/4  Andante  sostentUo 

^  Romance    —    Milden- 
berg  (1st  part  only) 

7 

3 

T  —  After  a  time 

2/4  Allegretto 
REEL  No.  2 

Canzonetta  —  Herbert 

8 

3 

T  —  Surely  you  can 
help  me  ? 

6/8  Poco  piu  lento 

En  Mer  —  Holmes 
(From  Letter  D) 

9 

u 

T  —  Before  her  lay 

3/4Andante  sostenuto 

1  Romance    —    Milden- 
berg  (1st  part  only) 

10 

2\ 

T  —  Doctor  finds  body  4/8  Lento 

Erotik  —  Grieg 

in  queer  state 

11 

H 

T  —  So  Lady  G.  sailed  6/8  Andantino 

Barcarolle  —  Hofifmann 

for  the  homeland 

12 

3i 

T  —  The  first  day  at 
Saltwoods 

3/4  Moderato 
REEL  No.  3 

Prelude  —  Damrosch 
(From  Cyrano) 

13 

2 

T  —  At  last  Rosamond  3/ 4  Andante  Cantabile  An  Indian  Legend  —           | 

sent  for  Major  Ber- 

Baron 

thune 

14 

11 

T  —  It's  a  letter  from 
Uncle  Arthur 

2/4  Allegretto 

Air  de  Ballet  —  Borch 

15 

1 

T  —  I  am  secretary  of 

3/4  Andante  sostenuto 

'  Romance  —  Milden- 
berg 

16 

2 

T  —  Then  came  agony 

2/4  Allegro 

•  Farandole  —  Bizet 

17 

3 

T  —  A  little  incident 
occurred 

2/2  Agitato 

1  Implorations   Neptune 
—  Massenet 

18 

U 

T  —  What  an  inclosed 
note  told 

2/4  Molto  allegro 
REEL  No.  4 

Le  Ville  —  Puccini 
(Battle  music) 

19 

21 

T  —  Prompt,  etc. 

4/4  Risoluto 

Cry  of  Rachel  —  Salter 

20 

2 

T  —  The  dregs  of  life 

2/4  Allegretto 

Canzonetta  —  Godard 

21 

2i 

D  —  Rosamond  leaves 
table 

3/4  Allegro 

Appassionato  —  Berge 

22 

1 

T  —  Have  you  noticed 
any  derangement 

3/4  Allegretto 
REEL  No.  5 

Air  de  Ballet  —  Herbert 

23 

3 

T  —  The  breaking 
point 

2/2  Agitato 

*  Implorations  Neptune 
—  Massenet 

24 

3i 

D  —  Jani  enters  with 
urn 

6/4  Allegro 

Flying  Dutchman  — 
Wagner  (Overture  — 
omit  sailors'  song) 

25 

H 

D  —  Doctor  enters 

4/4  Andante  modterato 

One  Who  Has  Yearned 
—  Tschaikowsky 

26 

U 

T  —  Wounded,  Harry 

escaped 
T  —  The  rainbow's  end 

6/8  Allegretto 

Love  in  Arcady  —  Wood 

27 

U 

4/4  Moderato 

^  Rose  in  the  Bud  — 

The  E>fD 

Foster 

1 

Repeated  Selections 

(WUh  Mnd  permission  of  the  "  Famous  Plavers-Laskv  CorpoTculon." 

GO 


CONCLUSION 

Having  explained  in  the  foregoing  what  problems  the  motion-picture 
organist  or  pianist  has  to  face,  and  having  shown  how  to  solve  them,  it 
behooves  the  aspirant  to  such  position  to  provide  himself  with  enough 
equipment  for  a  trial  engagement.  Let  us  now  suppose  we  are  setting  out 
for  the  theater. 

Through  the  courtesy  of  the  film-producing  companies,  the  organist  is 
provided  with  a  "cue-sheet,"  generally  about  a  week  or  three  days  before 
the  picture  is  shown.  Illustration  of  a  sample  may  be  found  on  the 
preceding  page. 

By  means  of  this  sheet,  the  player  will  select  his  material,  timing  the 
various  numbers,  the  main  theme,  and  the  spaces  for  improvisation.  Hav- 
ing selected  the  music  for  a  picture,  place  it  in  proper  order  within  a  folder, 
marked  with  the  name,  so  that  when  you  arrive  at  the  organ  you  will  not 
be  scrambHng  here  and  there  and  everywhere  for  scraps  of  paper. 

Tuck  your  music  under  your  arm  and  walk  into  the  orchestra  pit 
(where  the  organ  console  or  piano  is  placed)  with  a  firm  tread  and  a  con- 
fident heart.  There  is  no  time  now  for  any  misgivings.  You  have  entered 
an  electric  atmosphere.  Whatever  you  feel  personally,  you  will  most 
certainly  convey  to  the  audience.  Nervousness,  timidity,  or  fear  must  be 
left  with  your  hat  in  the  dressing  room  outside ;  they  have  no  place  in  the 
auditorium. 

Seat  yourself  leisurely  and  with  confidence.  Turn  on  the  lights,  arrange 
your  music  at  a  satisfactory  angle,  and  you  are  ready  to  begin. 

Here  we  reach  an  important  point.  Do  not  think  you  have  to  play 
frantically  every  moment  of  the  time.  This  is  called  most  appropriately 
''crowding  the  picture."  When  you  wish  to  change  your  registration  at 
the  end  of  a  theme,  take  your  hands  and  feet  off  the  keys  and  change  it. 
Do  not,  above  all  things,  hold  a  chord  church-fashion  on  one  manual  while 
setting  up  new  registration  on  another.  Nor  is  it  obligatory  to  play  during 
the  announcement  of  "  coming  events."  A  little  silence  now  and  then  is 
rehshed  by  all  audiences. 

61 


62     MUSICAL  ACCOMPANIMENT  OF  MOVING   PICTURES 

Keep  in  touch  with  as  many  concerns  that  publish  "picture  music"  as 
possible.  Renew  and  enlarge  your  repertoire  as  often  and  as  much  as  you 
can.  Visit  the  music  shops,  whenever  you  have  an  opportunity,  and  look 
over  the  novelties  in  popular  music  as  well  as  in  the  better  class  of  publi- 
cations. Never  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  you  are  placed  in  a  position  of 
extraordinary  advantage  to  raise  and  to  improve  the  musical  taste  of  your 
audience.  Use  wisdom  in  combining  "Ughter  stuff"  and  artistic  material, 
work  gradually  towards  a  happy  union  of  the  two,  with  music  of  real  worth 
predominating. 

If  you  are  left  in  doubt  concerning  any  point  connected  with  the  question 
of  "how  to  play  for  the  pictures,"  the  authors  will  be  glad  to  receive  your 
communication,  in  care  of  the  publishers,  and  will  endeavor  to  answer 
your  inquiry  as  promptly  and  as  satisfactorily  as  possible. 


INDEX 


Agitato,  38,  55,  (see  "hurries") 
animal  sounds  (grotesque),  59 
animated  cartoons,  35-37 
anticipating  the  trend  of  the  story,  3 
anticipation,  18^ 
approach  of  cUmax,  58 
audiences,  3 

Battle  scenes,  30 
bells,  57 

"breaking"  of  a  theme,  9 
bugle  signals,  39 
bump  or  fall,  55,  58 

Change  of  organ  registration,  12 

change  of  rhythm,  10-11 

characteristics  essential  in  player,  1 

climax,  32,  55,  58 

comedy  (repertoire),  28 ;  (registration), 

comedy  agitato,  38 

comedy  drama,  37-38,  56 

"comedy  touch,"  36 

compound  stops,  50 

couplers,  48,  51-52 

crash,  55,  57 

crescendo  pedal,  52-53 

"crowding  the  picture,"  61 

"cue  sheet,"  2,  60,  61 

Death,  30 
diapason,  49,  51 
double  stops,  51 

Educational  films,  40-41 
elegiac  moods,  27 
emotional  player,  3 
emotions  (registration),  54 
exotic  moods,  28 
expressiveness  of  melody,  12,  26 

Facial  expression,  5 
fashion  pictures,  40 
feathered  animals,  59 
feature  film,  31-34 
festive  moods,  28 
"flash-backs,"  34-35 
foundation  stops,  48,  49,  51 


55 


Galloping  horses,  58 
"given  key,"  14-21 
glissando,  39,  57 

Handling  of  organ  registers,  7 
how  to  sit  at  the  organ,  44-45,  61 
hmnor,  3,  36. 
hurries,  29,  38;   (races),  39,  55 

Impressive  moods,  28 
improvisation,  7,  22-26 
independence  of  hands  and  feet,  46,  47 
intensity  of  tone,  6 

introduction  of  diminished-seventh  chord 
(for  modulatory  purposes),  20 

"Jazz,"  4,  37,  58-59 

Keyboards,  44,  (see  also  "manuals") 

Legato  touch,  47 
light,  graceful  moods,  27 
local  color,  6 
love  themes,  27 

Main  theme,  8 

manuals,  48 

manual  stops,  4^50 

memory,  5 

mental  alertness,  3-7 

misinterpretation  of  picture,  4 

mixtures,  48,  50 

"mock"  emotions,  36,  38 

modulation,  13-21 ;  (with  pivotal  note), 
15-17;  (with  pivotal  chord),  18;  (with 
recitative),  19;  (with  diminished- 
seventh  chord),  19-21;  ("psychologic" 
possibilities),  15;  (to  dominant  of 
prospective  key),  15 

moods  (registration),  54 

musical  atmosphere,  4,  7 

musical  "caricature,"  36 

musical  characterization,  8,  30 

musical  interpretation,  4-5,  31-43 

mutation  stops,  48,  50 

mysterioso,  55 


63 


64 


INDEX 


Nature  themes,  27 
neutral  music,  29,  34 
nomenclature  of  organ  stops,  49-51 

Old  age,  30 

opera  as  a  model,  6 

orchestra  as  a  model,  7,  47 

Pedal  as  foundation  of  harmony,  56 

pedal  stops,  51 

pedallijig,  45-46 

pistons,  52 

pivotal  chord  {see  "modulation") 

pivotal  note  {see  "modulation") 

popular  music,  3,  37,  62 

"prospective  key,"  14-21 

"psychologic"  possibilities  of  modulation, 

15 
psychological  insight,  4-5 

Quint,  50 

Rain,  57 

recitative,  55-56,  58;   (transitory),  19 

reed  stops,  50,  51 

registration,  7,  9,  47,  53-56 

related  keys,  14—15 

repertoire,  3-30 

resourcefulness,  1,  7-26 

Scenery  musically  illustrated,  6,  12,  41- 

43 ;  (registration),  54-55 
selection  of  musical  material,  61 
sesquialtera,  50 
silence,  6,  58 

slap-stick  comedy,  35-37,  56 
special  effects,  36,  56-59 
staccato  touch,  47 
standard  overtures,  29 


storm  scenes,  30 
"striking"  themes,  12 
subsidiary  themes,  8 
suspension,  18^ 
swell  pedals,  52 

Tempo,  6 
tension,  55,  58 
theatrical  organ,  44-5G 
theatrical  values,  5 
thematic  development,  8-13,  26 
thunder,  57 

tonality  (changes in),  13;  (character  of),  13 
"tone  color,"  53 
tragedy,  30 
transition,  13-21 
transposition,  21-22 
traps,  56 

travel     views,     41-43 ;       (inappropriate 
music),  4 

Unison  pitch,  48 

Variety  (in  metre),  11;    (in  tempo),  13; 

(in  keys),  13 
vaudeville  effects,  58 
villanous  characters,  30 
vox  humana,  54 

Waltzes,  29,  39,  40 
water  scenes,  41,  55 
weekly  news  pictures,  38-40 
whistles,  57 
wind,  57 

Xylophone,  55,  58 

Youthful  characters,  30 


Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date 


stamped  below. 


APR  18  1994 

R  ?  '^  e  >  w  I?  r:^ 

APR  1 S 1994 


UCLA-Theater  Arts  Library 

MT  737  L252m 


L  006  285  995  4 


